NEURAL PLASTICITY ASSOCIATED WITH BRAILLE LEARNING

描述：这项研究解决了未使用的皮质区域的程度 通常情况下，从属于一种感觉可以被另一种感觉取代，当一个新的 提出了本课题的主要任务。在此之前，我们已经演示了盲人盲文 在触觉布莱叶盲文阅读中，读者使用“视觉”皮层。这 提示在视觉输入去传入后，纹状体神经元 能够对来自其他感官(触摸)的输入做出反应。现在我们想要 调查这一现象是否由于揭开潜伏期所致 通过研究强化触觉盲文训练对儿童心理健康的影响 蒙眼视力受试者的纹状体活动。四组有视力的人 受试者要么被蒙上眼睛，要么在研究期间不被蒙住眼睛(7 天)，要么接受高强度的触觉训练，要么不接受。 将使用神经生理学和神经成像技术来评估 感觉运动和视觉皮质活动在运动开始和结束时的变化 7天为研究期。我们假设：(1)无论视觉效果如何 功能，学习触觉盲文就会联想到放大 阅读手指衬垫的感官表现。功能磁共振 (FMRI)和体感诱发电位(SEP)将被用来测试这一点 假设；(2)视觉剥夺受试者学习触觉盲文的速度更快 而不是视觉剥夺的受试者。盲文的学习曲线 字符识别将通过所有受试者的日常测试来生成 使用专门设计的盲文刺激器；以及(3)学习盲文是 视觉剥夺的受试者将与枕叶的激活有关 由于揭开了现有连接的面纱，视觉皮质。在非视觉上 被剥夺权利的人这一过程将不会发生。9月，功能核磁共振， 将使用神经眼科和神经心理学评估来研究 第7天研究开始和结束时纹状体皮质的功能 句号。结果将加深我们对能力的理解 成年人脑在受伤后重新组织并提供 设计战略以优化调整的重要信息 尤其是视力丧失和神经功能的恢复 一般情况下都会受伤。

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.