Eye movements may be key to chronic fatigue syndrome diagnosis

Oculomotor testing in the lab

A Monash Central Clinical School scientist has been awarded $180,000 over three years to develop a way to help diagnose myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).

Associate Professor Joanne Fielding, from the Department of Neuroscience, is being funded  by the Judith Jane Mason & Harold Stannet Williams Memorial Foundation (the Mason Foundation) through Equity Trustees to conduct a project identifying objective behavioural markers for this debilitating disorder. Associate Professor Fielding is working with Dr Scott Kolbe and Dr Meaghan Clough, both from the Department, and co-investigator Dr Chris Armstrong from the University of Melbourne on the project.

Visual Snow Syndrome causes becoming clearer

The grainy visual disturbance typical of Visual Snow Syndrome
compared with normal visual perception.

by Anne Crawford

A little over three years ago, Monash University Department of Neuroscience researchers Associate Professor Joanne Fielding and Professor Owen White were given A$140,000 to fund research into a neurological condition that was at the time little known and under-researched.

People with Visual Snow Syndrome see the world through a constant overlay of flickering dots passing over their entire field of vision. This persists whether their eyes are open or closed. The incurable condition is not due to eye problems – it’s caused by an unknown brain malfunction.

Visual Snow Syndrome research challenges: Rare Disease Day feature

L-R: A/Prof Jo Fielding says of Visual Snow that "it is very difficult,
if not impossible to diagnose"; and patient advocate Patricia says VSS
is "quite challenging". See video (1:57 mins)

Part of our special series for Rare Disease Day featuring patient advocates and CCS researchers 

The Department of Neuroscience’s Associate Professor Joanne Fielding is involved in research on Visual Snow Syndrome (VSS), a neurological condition primarily affecting the processing of sensory information. Even though it is thought to affect up to 2% of people, it is not widely recognised or diagnosed correctly by the medical community. 

Awareness day brings rare diseases out of the shadows

CCS researchers have teamed up with patient advocates to give

insight into living with the illness and the research challenges

to understand the disease for improved diagnosis and treatment.

See video playlist or see below for links to specific videos.

Today, 28 February, the Central Clinical School’s Community and Research Engagement (CCS CaRE) program is participating in a global Rare Disease Day, to raise awareness of rare diseases and showcase some of the research that goes into rare diseases now being undertaken across the school.

Visual snow causes being revealed

A/Prof Jo Fielding explains the research. See video

Neuroscientists have recently characterised how visual processing is disrupted in the condition known as Visual Snow Syndrome (VSS).

The hallmark symptom of VSS is constant and dynamic “snow” across the entire field of vision.

Study links loss of ‘white matter’ in brain to MS symptom

Executive control includes the ability to stop ourselves from
behaving impulsively. The researchers have found that executive
control deficits are connected to reduced white matter in the
frontal lobe of the brain.

by Anne Crawford

While treatments are becoming increasingly effective in countering many of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), linking actual changes in the brain to its more elusive symptoms is vital to driving the development of therapies that can ultimately halt the disease.

Monash University researchers, led by Associate Professor Joanne Fielding and Dr Meaghan Clough in the Department of Neuroscience, are investigating deficits in executive control, that is the way our ‘higher brain’ controls basic behaviour, and determining which area in the brain is driving these deficits.

Seeking clarity on a fuzzy neurological condition

A/Professor Joanne Fielding and Professor Owen White from the Department of Neuroscience had a busy Friday morning last week, discussing their research into Visual Snow on both Neil Mitchell's 3AW radio show, and then featuring on Melbourne's Channel 9 News.

Visual Snow is thought to affect the way the brain processes optical messages from the eyes, with affected people viewing the world through a film of what looks like TV static. There are many related symptoms, including migraines, floaters, auras and more. It often takes years for people to be formally diagnosed, creating a tense and frustrating wait.

Brain Awareness Week lecture

Central Clinical School and Alfred Health are teaming up to help celebrate Brain Awareness Week between March 11 - 17th. The annual week is hosted internationally by the Dana Foundation, and aims to draw attention to the value of brain research.

All staff are invited to a lecture in the former AMREP lecture theatre between 2-3pm on Thursday 14th March.

A$140,000 donation kicks off research for Visual Snow

Back row (L - R): Dr Ben Sinclair, Paige Foletta, Dr Scott Kolbe,
Front row (L - R): Dr Meaghan Clough, Professor Owen White,
Associate Professor Joanne Fielding, Emma Solly.

Thanks to a donation from the US-based non-profit Visual Snow Initiative (VSI), Monash University Department of Neuroscience researchers, Associate Professor Joanne Fielding and Professor  Owen White, will conduct Australia’s first  exploration of an emerging neurological syndrome called Visual Snow.

Many young people are affected by the hallmark symptom of constant and dynamic “snow” in the entire field of vision.  One minute you see the world clearly and in an instant, without warning, a life is changed forever. It can be a 24/7 battle because it never goes away with the eyes opened or closed. Others are born with the condition, and many don’t realize how abnormal their vision really is. A new dilemma can occur for those seeking a diagnosis or treatment. Eye tests almost always come back normal because Visual Snow is not an eye disorder but a brain malfunction.  Because Visual Snow manifests itself in the eyes, it often leaves both patients and physicians in limbo, uncertain of where to go next for a diagnosis. This also makes it difficult to estimate how many people are affected.

Participants sought: Migraine and visual disturbance, known as 'visual snow'

Visual snow can granulate visual perception as per the
right-hand image pictured here. Image: Medpage today

The problem

Currently, there is little understanding of the causes of Visual Snow (VS) and the relationship between VS and migraine.  As such, more research needs to be conducted to better understand the underlying mechanisms of these conditions.

A large portion of the brain is involved in vision and controlling the movement of the eyes. Other research has shown that simple eye movement tests and visual perception tasks can give important information about the mechanisms underlying neurological conditions.

What we want to find out

We wish to investigate whether differences in performance on eye movement and visual perception tests can account for the symptoms of VS and the differences in symptomology between VS and migraine.