State-dependent responses of emotional brain networks in high myopia under blurred vision: a shift towards dorsal stream and cross-modal processing
4 affiliations
- 1Taizhou Vocational College of Science & Technology, Taizhou, China
- 2School of Educational Sciences, Lingnan Normal University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China
- 3Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- 4State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Guangzhou, China
Abstract
Purpose: Reliable sensory input plays a vital role in shaping emotional experience, however, how the brain modulates the formation of emotion under chronic visual degradation remains unclear. Using high myopia (HM) as a natural model of sustained blur, this study investigated state-dependent responses of emotional brain networks during blurred movie viewing.
Methods: Twenty-four participants with high myopia (HM) were tested without optical correction, comparing with normal vision (NV) controls from previous research. All participants watched thriller and scenic movie clips twice over one week during fMRI. Intra-subject synchrony and seed-based functional connectivity analyses focused on the amygdala and visual processing streams.
Results: Compared to NV controls, the HM group exhibited reduced intra-subject synchrony in visual cortices but increased synchrony in the primary auditory cortex, indicating cross-modal compensatory enhancement. During threat processing, HM participants showed strengthened and stable functional connectivity between the amygdala and the dorsal visual stream. For non-threatening content, this enhanced connectivity initially involved both dorsal and ventral stream but persisted selectively in the dorsal stream upon repeated viewing.
Conclusion: Sustained visual blur elicits a perceptual-state-dependent functional response in emotional networks, characterized by heightened cross-modal auditory integration and an increased recruitment of the visual dorsal stream during blurred viewing. These findings highlight the brain’s immediate compensatory mechanisms under conditions of ambiguous visual input.
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BibTeX
@article{cui2026statedependent,
title = {{State-dependent responses of emotional brain networks in high myopia under blurred vision: a shift towards dorsal stream and cross-modal processing}},
author = {Lin Cui and Xianqing Zeng and Shuai Chang and Xinping Yu and Ming Meng},
journal = {Frontiers in Human Neuroscience},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fnhum.2026.1927265},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2026.1927265},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - State-dependent responses of emotional brain networks in high myopia under blurred vision: a shift towards dorsal stream and cross-modal processing
AU - Lin Cui
AU - Xianqing Zeng
AU - Shuai Chang
AU - Xinping Yu
AU - Ming Meng
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
DO - 10.3389/fnhum.2026.1927265
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2026.1927265
AB - Purpose: Reliable sensory input plays a vital role in shaping emotional experience, however, how the brain modulates the formation of emotion under chronic visual degradation remains unclear. Using high myopia (HM) as a natural model of sustained blur, this study investigated state-dependent responses of emotional brain networks during blurred movie viewing. Methods: Twenty-four participants with high myopia (HM) were tested without optical correction, comparing with normal vision (NV) controls from previous research. All participants watched thriller and scenic movie clips twice over one week during fMRI. Intra-subject synchrony and seed-based functional connectivity analyses focused on the amygdala and visual processing streams. Results: Compared to NV controls, the HM group exhibited reduced intra-subject synchrony in visual cortices but increased synchrony in the primary auditory cortex, indicating cross-modal compensatory enhancement. During threat processing, HM participants showed strengthened and stable functional connectivity between the amygdala and the dorsal visual stream. For non-threatening content, this enhanced connectivity initially involved both dorsal and ventral stream but persisted selectively in the dorsal stream upon repeated viewing. Conclusion: Sustained visual blur elicits a perceptual-state-dependent functional response in emotional networks, characterized by heightened cross-modal auditory integration and an increased recruitment of the visual dorsal stream during blurred viewing. These findings highlight the brain’s immediate compensatory mechanisms under conditions of ambiguous visual input.
SN - 1662-5161
ER -