Abstract: Glaucoma was believed as local lesions of eyes. Recent studies demonstrated that the trans-synaptic degeneration and cross-modal plasticity were involved in glaucoma-induced pathophysiological changes of brain, and the hypothesis of “optic nerve-posterior visual pathway-optic nerve” injury circuit was proposed. Glaucoma-induced neural injuries was not limited to the eyes, but also caused pathophysiological changes to the whole visual pathways. The achievement provides a new and holistic view on diagnosis and treatment in diseases of the nervous system, and this new concept gives us a brand new horizon when looking at diseases, presenting inspiration for development of diagnosis and treatment methods.

Key words: Optic nerve injury, Glaucoma, Trans-synaptic degeneration, Cross-modal plasticity, holistic view on diseases of the nervous system.