{"id":3208,"date":"2018-11-27T11:59:13","date_gmt":"2018-11-27T11:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/?p=3208"},"modified":"2023-03-22T13:02:17","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T13:02:17","slug":"the-eye-test-that-maps-your-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/2018\/11\/27\/the-eye-test-that-maps-your-brain\/","title":{"rendered":"The eye test that maps your brain"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"lead\">Future Leaders in Neuroscience and Mental Health Research is an initiative providing seed-corn funding to early career researchers at Cardiff University. Donations to this cause are enabling Cardiff researchers like Dr Kathryn Peall to measure eye movements that will lead her to the part of the brain involved in a disorder called dystonia.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dystonia research at Cardiff University\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/clfoEBlk6Rc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Dystonia is a little known, and not fully understood condition. Symptoms include painful, prolonged muscle contractions, as well as abnormal movement and tremors. For Dr Kathryn Peall, that lack of understanding is a major motivator:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/neuro_eye_exam_KPeall.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-3210\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/neuro_eye_exam_KPeall-1024x575.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/neuro_eye_exam_KPeall-1024x575.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/neuro_eye_exam_KPeall-170x96.png 170w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/neuro_eye_exam_KPeall-250x141.png 250w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/neuro_eye_exam_KPeall-550x309.png 550w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/neuro_eye_exam_KPeall-600x338.png 600w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/neuro_eye_exam_KPeall-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/neuro_eye_exam_KPeall-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/neuro_eye_exam_KPeall-70x40.png 70w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/neuro_eye_exam_KPeall-270x152.png 270w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/neuro_eye_exam_KPeall-370x208.png 370w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/neuro_eye_exam_KPeall-570x320.png 570w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/neuro_eye_exam_KPeall-670x376.png 670w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/neuro_eye_exam_KPeall-770x433.png 770w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/neuro_eye_exam_KPeall-870x489.png 870w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/neuro_eye_exam_KPeall-970x545.png 970w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/neuro_eye_exam_KPeall.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\u201cAs a clinician, I find myself apologising to patients for the limited knowledge surrounding dystonia. I diagnose it, but at the moment treatments target symptoms, not the neurological root of the problem. We need to step up and do something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When we visit her clinic, her research seems strangely familiar considering it\u2019s looking for a hidden away part of the brain that causes this neurological disorder. In fact, it resembles a fairly standard eye test.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cThanks to Future Leaders funding, I am tracking subtle eye movements in patients with dystonia, using these movements to locate the source of dystonia in the brain. This is a huge stepping stone into data on how the disease works and how we can treat it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Talking to dystonia patients who are participating in her research, it\u2019s clear that this is not just a data gathering exercise. For Rhiannon Gray, her diagnosis came about by chance:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-3211\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/DSC00488-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/DSC00488-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/DSC00488-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/DSC00488-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/DSC00488-70x40.jpg 70w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/DSC00488-170x96.jpg 170w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/DSC00488-270x152.jpg 270w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/DSC00488-370x208.jpg 370w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/DSC00488-570x320.jpg 570w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/DSC00488-670x376.jpg 670w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/DSC00488-770x433.jpg 770w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/DSC00488-870x489.jpg 870w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/323\/2018\/11\/DSC00488-970x545.jpg 970w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I was 35 and pregnant with my third child I started to have a tremor down my left arm. The GP couldn\u2019t find a cause or diagnosis, and my physiotherapist couldn\u2019t figure out the source of the pain either. It just so happened that my physio met a neurologist who was interested in my case and who was able to diagnose me with dystonia within five minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Being diagnosed with dystonia not only allowed her to manage her symptoms(medications like botox and Parkinson\u2019s drugs are currently used) but it also prompted her to think about other sufferers in her family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am the third generation in my family who suffers with this. My grandfather had motor neurone disease and my mother has suffered from a tremor since her 30s. I\u2019m very aware that any of my children might also have it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cBeing part of Dr Peall\u2019s research means that I\u2019m doing what I can for my children and their children, to find better treatments and even cures.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>That link to patients, and the impact on their lives and families is not lost on Dr Peall.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen patients come long distances to participate in my research, desperate to understand more about what is happening to them, I am motivated by the impact that this project will have on real lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And, thanks to the support of donors, Dr Peal firmly believes there is real hope for this research to progress.:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cBecause of the Future Leaders donations, we\u2019ve secured further funding to pursue this lead. We want to track sleep data, and we want to use brain imaging to see if our findings correlate with brain activity.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cI believe that in my lifetime we will have better treatment for dystonia\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cardiff.ac.uk\/donate\/give-now\/make-a-gift?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=blog_click_through&amp;utm_campaign=givingtuesday&amp;utm_content=neuroblog\">You can support researchers like Dr Kathryn Peall by giving to Cardiff University, and indicating you want your donation to go towards neuroscience and mental health<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Future Leaders in Neuroscience and Mental Health Research is an initiative providing seed-corn funding to early career researchers at Cardiff University. Donations to this cause are enabling Cardiff researchers like Dr Kathryn Peall to measure eye movements that will lead her to the part of the brain involved in a disorder called dystonia.","protected":false},"author":904,"featured_media":3210,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/904"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3208"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3225,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3208\/revisions\/3225"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}