Objective Decreased blood flow to the brain causes stroke and damage to neuronal networks.Neuronal damage occurs not only in the infarct core, but also in areas away from the infarcts by retrograde neuronal degeneration.This Study was aimed to determine if afferent cortical projection neurons had different damages after permanent middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion in mice.Since cortical ischemia impairs sensations, the objective of this study was to investigate whether MCA occlusion might induce visual disturbance.Methods The distal MCA of the right hemisphere was directly occluded in mice and the ischemic areas were assessed histologically.Afferent projection neurons to the ischemic cortex were examined by retrograde labeling.Transgenic Thy1-YFP mice were used to determine how MCA occlusion affects efferent projection neurons in layer V.To evaluate visual functions of ischemic mice, optomotor responses and Flash Visual Evoked Potential (FVEP) were measured.The optomotor response of the ipsilateral eye was reduced and the latencies of FVEP increased in the monocular visual cortex of the ischemic hemisphere.Results Unilateral cortical ischemia appeared 24 to 72 h after occlusion, but disappeared after one week.Efferent subcortical neurons and afferent thalamocortical neurons disappeared, whereas afferent corticocortical neurons were functionally impaired 48 h post-ischemia.In addition, the optomotor response of the ipsilateral eye was reduced and the latencies of FVEP increased in the monocular visual cortex of the ischemic hemisphere, Conclusion Ischemia causes different forms of retrograde damage to callosal and thalamocortical projection neurons.The results show that focal cerebral ischemia produces ipsilateral visual disturbances in mice and may provide a platform for further investigation of the relationship between cortical ischemia and visual function.