NEURAL PLASTICITY ASSOCIATED WITH BRAILLE LEARNING

与盲文学习相关的神经可塑性

• 批准号: 2882939
• 负责人: Alvaro Pascual-Leone
• 金额: $ 27.51万
• 依托单位: BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 1998
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1998-03-01 至 2002-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/2882939
• 关键词: behavioral /social science research tag; blind aid; blindness; communication behavior; computer data analysis; corpus striatum; electrostimulus; evoked potentials; functional magnetic resonance imaging; human subject; image processing; learning; neural information processing; neural plasticity; neurophysiology; neuropsychological tests; perceptual maskings; sensorimotor system; sensory deprivation; sensory discrimination; statistics /biometry; substitute sight; touch; vision tests; visual cortex

DESCRIPTION: This study addresses the extent to which unused cortical areas normally subserving one sense can be taken over by another sense when a new task is presented. Previously, we have demonstrated that blind Braille readers use the 'visual' cortex during tactile Braille reading. This suggests that after visual input deafferentation, striatal neurons are capable of responding to input from other senses (touch). Now we want to investigate whether this phenomenon is due to unmasking of latent connections by studying the effects of intensive tactile Braille training on striatal activity in blindfolded sighted subjects. Four groups of sighted subjects will either be blindfolded or not for the duration of the study (7 days) and either undergo intensive tactile training or not. Neurophysiologic and neuroimaging techniques will be used to evaluate sensorimotor and visual cortical activity at the beginning and the end of the 7 day study period. We hypothesize that: (1) regardless of visual function, learning tactile Braille will be associated with an enlargement of the sensory representation of the pad of the reading finger. Functional MRI (fMRI) and somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) will be used to test this hypothesis; (2) visually deprived subjects will learn tactile Braille faster than non-visually deprived sighted subjects. Learning curves for Braille character recognition will be generated by daily testing of all subjects with a specially designed Braille stimulator; and (3) learning Braille is visually deprived subjects will be associated with activation of occipital visual cortex due to unmasking of existing connections. In non-visually deprived subjects this process will not take place. SEP, fMRI, neurophthalmologic and neuropsychologic evaluations will be used to study the function of striatal cortex at the beginning and end of the 7 day study period. The results will enhance our understanding about the capabilities of the adult human brain to reorganize following an injury and provide important information for the design of strategies to optimize adjustment to loss of sight in particular, and recovery of function following neural injury in general.

描述：这项研究探讨了未使用的皮质区域的程度 通常，当一种新的感觉出现时，一种感觉可能会被另一种感觉所取代。 提出了任务。 之前我们已经证明了盲人盲文 读者在触觉盲文阅读过程中使用“视觉”皮层。 这 表明视觉输入传入神经阻滞后，纹状体神经元 能够响应其他感官（触摸）的输入。 现在我们想要 调查这种现象是否是由于隐藏了潜在的 通过研究强化触觉盲文训练的影响来建立联系 蒙眼视力受试者的纹状体活动。 四组视力正常者 在研究期间，受试者要么被蒙住眼睛，要么不蒙住眼睛（7 天），要么接受强化触觉训练，要么不接受。 将使用神经生理学和神经影像技术来评估 开始和结束时的感觉运动和视觉皮层活动 7天的学习期。 我们假设：（1）无论视觉 功能，学习触觉盲文将与扩大 阅读手指垫的感官表征。 功能性核磁共振 （fMRI）和体感诱发电位（SEP）将用于测试这一点 假设; (2) 视力障碍的受试者会更快地学习触觉盲文 比非视力障碍的视力正常的受试者。 盲文的学习曲线 字符识别将通过所有科目的日常测试生成 配有专门设计的盲文刺激器； (3) 学习盲文是 视力障碍的受试者将与枕叶的激活相关 由于现有连接的暴露而导致视觉皮层。 在非视觉上 被剥夺的受试者不会发生此过程。 SEP、功能磁共振成像、 神经眼科和神经心理学评估将用于研究 7 天研究开始和结束时纹状体皮质的功能 时期。 结果将增强我们对能力的理解 成人大脑在受伤后进行重组并提供 设计优化调整策略的重要信息 特别是视力丧​​失，以及神经功能恢复 伤害一般。