The Sprague effect is the phenomenon where

homonymous hemianopia Hemianopsia, or hemianopia, is a visual field loss on the left or right side of the vertical midline. It can affect one eye but usually affects both eyes. Homonymous hemianopsia (or homonymous hemianopia) is hemianopic visual field loss on the s ...

, caused by damage to the

visual cortex The visual cortex of the brain is the area of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information. It is located in the occipital lobe. Sensory input originating from the eyes travels through the lateral geniculate nucleus in the thalamus and ...

, gets slightly better when the contralesional superior colliculus is destroyed. The effect is named for its discoverer, James Sprague, who observed this phenomenon in 1966 using a cat model. Several reasons have been thought of for this happening, including mutual inhibition between the two brain hemispheres. For similar reasons of inhibiting an inhibitory structure, damaging the substantia nigra, for instance by using

ibotenic acid Ibotenic acid or (''S'')-2-amino-2-(3-hydroxyisoxazol-5-yl)acetic acid, also referred to as ibotenate, is a chemical compound and psychoactive drug which occurs naturally in ''Amanita muscaria'' and related species of mushrooms typically found i ...

, can also cause the same improvement.

References

{{reflist Visual disturbances and blindness Blindness