Editing Magnocellular cell (section)

==Clinical significance==
Abnormal magnocellular pathways and magnocellular cells can be associated with various disorders and ocular impairments, including dyslexia, prosopagnosia and schizophrenia.<ref name=Stein2014/><ref name=Vidyasagar2004/><ref name=Bortolon2015/>

=== Dyslexia ===
[[Dyslexia]] is a disability which affects individual’s ability to read. It often first manifests in childhood, if at all; however, dyslexia can manifest itself in adulthood because of a brain tumor or lesion on/penetrating M cells.<ref name=Vidyasagar2004/> There is no clear idea of the role of M cells and the magnocellular pathway in dyslexia.

One theory suggests that the nonlinearity, size, and compensation of miniature eye movements of M cells all help to focus on a single target and blur the surroundings, which is crucial in reading. This suggests that M cells are underdeveloped in many dyslexics. This may be due to genetics, autoimmunity, or nutrition. The [[KIAA0319]] gene on chromosome six controls [[cell migration]] to the LGN during development; and studies in [[transgenic mice]] and on brains of people with dyslexia examined after they died, show malformations in the LGN and cells expressing KIAA0319 growing in the wrong place.<ref name=Stein2014/> M cells are vulnerable to antineuronal antibodies which attack and render them unusable in the magnocellular pathway. This could be a cause of why dyslexics are more likely to have weakened immune systems.<ref name=Stein2014>{{cite journal | vauthors = Stein J | title = Dyslexia: the Role of Vision and Visual Attention | journal = Current Developmental Disorders Reports | volume = 1 | issue = 4 | pages = 267–280 | date = 2014-01-01 | pmid = 25346883 | pmc = 4203994 | doi = 10.1007/s40474-014-0030-6 }}</ref>

Another line of research suggests that defective eye movement caused by M cells is the cause of dyslexia. Since the magnocellular system is sensitive to image movement, and dyslexia is posited to be caused by abnormalities in M cells, dyslexics tend to focus on words longer, take shorter scans when reading, and stop more often per line. The study postulates that this is not caused by dyslexia but rather, low comprehension of the text causing abnormal eye movements in M cells. Therefore, it is difficult to conclude the importance of M cells in dyslexia from this study.<ref name=Vidyasagar2004/>

=== Schizophrenia ===
[[Schizophrenia]] is a mental disorder in which people are unable to differentiate what is real and what is not. It is believed that the magnocellular pathway may help with facial recognition and discrimination in children, but when this pathway is not developed completely or correctly, facial processing is more difficult for individuals later in life. This is seen in people with schizophrenia and occurs when there are issues in the integration of information from the M cell and P cell pathways, making it difficult for individuals with schizophrenia to differentiate between reality and hallucinations.<ref name=Bortolon2015/>