Role of Dendritic Cells in Post-Extraction Alveolar Bone Healing

Due to the extent humans rely on vision, sight restoration approaches are the predominant treatment option considered for optic neuropathy patients with vision loss. This trend is reflected in the wealth of research on sight restoration procedures. Patients with irreversible vision loss are left with limited treatment options due to the lack of research on alternative therapeutics and the prevalence of misdiagnosis (Jay, 2016; Weerasinghe & Lueck, 2016). Compensatory plasticity holds that auditory input can colonize the available cortical space in the visually deprived brain. The resulting enhancements in auditory cognition can be capitalized on by auditory-based rehabilitative tools. Sensory substitution devices have allowed visually deprived individuals to hear ‘colours’ and ‘shapes’, perceive their surroundings (O. Collignon, Champoux, Voss, & Lepore, 2011; Striem-Amit, Guendelman, & Amedi, 2012) and even read ‘written’ letters (Striem-Amit, Cohen, Dehaene, & Amedi, 2012) using soundscapes. VD echolocators navigate through daily obstacles using tongue clicks (Arnott, Thaler, Milne, Kish, & Goodale, 2013; A. J. Kolarik, Cirstea, Pardhan, & Moore, 2014; A. J. Kolarik, Scarfe, Moore, & Pardhan, 2017; Papadopoulos, Edwards, Rowan, & Allen, 2011; Teng, Puri, & Whitney, 2012; Teng & Whitney, 2011; Thaler, Arnott, & Goodale, 2011). Many higher order visual regions retain their functional specialization and adapt to auditory input from soundscapes or tongue clicks (O. Collignon, Lassonde, Lepore, Bastien, & Veraart, 2006; A. J. Kolarik et al., 2014; Striem-Amit & Amedi, 2014; Striem-Amit, Cohen, et al., 2012; Thaler et al., 2011). Due to the interaction between critical periods and plasticity, the therapeutic value of rehabilitative tools can vary with age of onset. Plasticity-induced cognitive enhancements from lack of visual stimulation during critical periods may underlie the greater efficacy of auditory-based rehabilitation for patients with early vision loss (Voss, 2019). Later vision loss improved the clinical outcome of sight restoration procedures. The addition of neuromodulators into other rehabilitative efforts may augment their therapeutic potential by promoting plasticity (Voss et al., 2016). While sight restoration may be the ideal rehabilitative procedure for optic neuropathy patients, auditory-based rehabilitative tools are valuable and underutilized treatment options when vision cannot be recovered.