Role of Visual Cortex in Tactile Object Processing

描述（由申请人提供）：来自神经影像学研究的证据表明，枕叶（视觉）皮层积极参与非视觉感官任务。本研究的目的是回答两个问题：1）视觉皮层在触觉知觉和识别中的参与程度如何？2)这些区域是否也参与了先天性失明者的触觉物体识别？我们将使用fMRI来回答这些问题。受试者将执行空间辨别和物体识别任务，以模拟呈现的刺激（简单的纹理模式和复杂的物体，如人脸）。拟议的实验将有助于我们理解物体是如何在视觉大脑中表示的，以及从触摸中获得的信息如何有助于这种处理。最后，在盲人中比较这些过程将有助于揭示在没有视觉的情况下允许感知对象表示的自适应机制。这些结果可能对盲人和视力受损者的康复和教育产生影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Evidence from neuroimaging studies suggests the occipital (visual) cortex actively participates in non-visual sensory tasks. The purpose of this research is to answer two questions: 1) To what degree are visual cortical areas involved in tactile perception and recognition? 2) Are these same areas involved in tactile object recognition in congenitally blind individuals who lack prior visual experience? We will employ fMRI to answer these questions. Subjects will perform spatial discrimination and object recognition tasks to tactilely presented stimuli (simple texture patterns and complex objects such as faces). The proposed experiments will contribute to our understanding as to how objects are represented within the visual brain and how information obtained from touch contributes to this processing. Finally, comparing these processes in the blind will help uncover the adaptive mechanisms allowing perceptual object representation in the absence of vision. These results are likely to have implications for the rehabilitation and education of the blind and visually impaired.