“…Several therapeutic approaches, such as optogenetic, pharmacological, or electrical stimulation, were used in animal models of retinitis pigmentosa to elicit activity in retinal and downstream circuits to restore vision or delay retinal degeneration (Aghaizu et al, 2017 ; Dias et al, 2018 ; Ayton et al, 2020 ; Farnum and Pelled, 2020 ; Kleinlogel et al, 2020 ; Prosseda et al, 2022 ). In human patients, electrical stimulation of retinal ganglion cells via retinal implants is able to elicit reliable responses in the visual cortex of RP patients, but the perception is usually restricted to light flashes or phosphenes (Humayun et al, 2012 ; Keserü et al, 2012 ; Yue et al, 2021 ; Wang et al, 2022 ). One reason for the limited success of these approaches, in addition to retinal changes, might be found in an altered visual system that has already undergone homeostatic changes due to the lack of visual input (Bhattacharyya, 2022 ; Caravaca-Rodriguez et al, 2022 ).…”