FIGURE 3.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging response to auditory stimulation. The results from the task-based auditory fMRI are presented for (A) sighted controls, (B) RPE65 patients before gene therapy, and (C) RPE65 patients 3 years after GT. The FX effect group analyses were processed at FDR corrected p < 0.02 (q < 0.05), with an extent threshold of >100 mm², and the RFX analyses were performed at an uncorrected p < 0.007 with an extent threshold >100 mm². Sighted controls showed the expected cortical activations in and around the bilateral Heschl’s gyrus, the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and the somatosensory cortex and deactivations in the visual cortex and within the default mode network. Compared to sighted controls, baseline RPE65 patients had similar patterns of auditory cortical activation, yet significant cortical activations within the bilateral visual cortices. Three years after retinal gene therapy, RPE65 patients showed the similar cortical activation patterns that were significantly enhanced.