Neural Plasticity Associated with Braille Learning

与盲文学习相关的神经可塑性

• 批准号: 7286889
• 负责人: Alvaro Pascual-Leone
• 金额: $ 41.5万
• 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 2008-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7286889
• 关键词: auditory pathways; behavioral /social science research tag; blindness; clinical research; functional magnetic resonance imaging; hearing; human subject; learning; neural information processing; neural plasticity; occipital lobe /cortex; perception; performance; psychophysics; sensorimotor system; sensory discrimination; touch; transcranial magnetic stimulation; vision tests; visual cortex; visual deprivation

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In our initial funding cycle we compared sighted subjects who were visually deprived for five days with non-visually deprived sighted subjects as they learned tactile Braille character recognition. Serial psychophysics and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies revealed that (1) visually deprived subjects learn tactile Braille reading significantly faster than non-visually deprived sighted subjects; and that (2) learning Braille in visually deprived subjects is associated with activation of occipital visual cortex. Furthermore, we found that auditory information processing can also be associated with activation of the occipital cortex in visually deprived subjects. These results are reminiscent of the findings in early blind subjects in whom the occipital cortex is recruited for tactile Braille reading and auditory processing. However, the rapid time course of our findings in the blindfolded sighted subjects is remarkable and raises questions about its functional significance and underlying mechanisms. The present proposal is designed to address these issues. Visually deprived normal subjects with or without intensity tactile stimulation and Braille teaching will be compared with sighed controls. Comparisons will be made with-in subjects across time and across subjects comparing the different study groups. All subjects will undergo three experiments repeated at various times during the study. First, we will use fMRI of a spatial and a non-spatial visual, tactile and auditory task to reveal information about which specific brain areas are activated in association with a given perceptual operation and sensory modality. We hypothesize that (1) the same occipital areas recruited during visual spatial tasks in sighted subjects will also be recruited, in the visually-deprived state, during auditory and tactile spatial tasks; and (2) the same relation will be true for the non-spatial tasks, but less involvement of the occipital cortex will be noted. Second, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) will be used to provide information about whether and when the contribution of a given cortical region is critical for task performance. We hypothesize that (1) in blindfolded subjects performance in spatial tasks (both tactile or auditory versions) will be disrupted by TMS of the occipital cortex easier than performance in non-spatial tasks; and that (2) the timing of TMS of the occipital cortex for disruption of spatial tactile and auditory tasks will be different. Finally, transcranial stimulation during fMRI will be used to study changes in functional connectivity of the visual cortex that may arise during the visual-deprivation and account for the activation of the visual cortex during tactile and auditory processing. The results will further characterize cross modal plasticity during visual deprivation, and illustrate fundamental aspects of the mechanisms involved in determining cortical functional specificity and those engaged in perceptual representation of the world.

描述（由申请人提供）：在我们最初的资助周期中，我们比较了视力被剥夺五天的视力受试者与学习触觉盲文字符识别的非视力被剥夺的视力受试者。一系列心理物理学和功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）研究表明：（1）视觉剥夺的受试者学习触觉盲文阅读的速度明显快于非视觉剥夺的视力受试者;（2）视觉剥夺的受试者学习盲文与枕叶视觉皮层的激活有关。此外，我们发现听觉信息处理也可能与视觉剥夺受试者枕叶皮层的激活有关。这些结果让人想起了早期盲人的研究结果，在这些盲人中，枕叶皮层被招募用于触觉盲文阅读和听觉处理。然而，我们在蒙眼受试者中的研究结果的快速时间过程是显着的，并提出了关于其功能意义和潜在机制的问题。本提案旨在解决这些问题。视觉剥夺的正常受试者，或没有强度的触觉刺激和盲文教学将与叹息控制进行比较。将进行不同时间内的受试者内比较和不同研究组间的受试者比较。所有受试者将在研究期间的不同时间重复进行三次实验。首先，我们将使用功能磁共振成像的空间和非空间的视觉，触觉和听觉任务，以揭示信息，特定的大脑区域被激活与给定的感知操作和感觉方式。我们假设：（1）在视觉空间任务中，视力正常的受试者在视觉剥夺状态下，在听觉和触觉空间任务中，同样的枕叶区也会被招募;（2）对于非空间任务，同样的关系也是正确的，但枕叶皮层的参与较少。第二，经颅磁刺激（TMS）将用于提供关于给定皮层区域的贡献是否以及何时对任务表现至关重要的信息。我们假设：（1）在被蒙住眼睛的受试者中，空间任务（触觉或听觉版本）的表现将比非空间任务的表现更容易被枕叶皮层的TMS破坏;（2）枕叶皮层的TMS破坏空间触觉和听觉任务的时间将是不同的。最后，在功能磁共振成像的经颅刺激将被用来研究视觉皮层的功能连接的变化，可能会出现在视觉剥夺和帐户的激活视觉皮层在触觉和听觉处理。研究结果将进一步表征视觉剥夺过程中的跨模态可塑性，并说明参与确定皮层功能特异性和参与感知表征世界的机制的基本方面。

项目成果

Rapid and reversible recruitment of early visual cortex for touch.

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003046
• 发表时间: 2008-08-27
• 期刊: PloS one
• 影响因子: 3.7
• 作者: Merabet LB;Hamilton R;Schlaug G;Swisher JD;Kiriakopoulos ET;Pitskel NB;Kauffman T;Pascual-Leone A
• 通讯作者: Pascual-Leone A

Improved motion perception and impaired spatial suppression following disruption of cortical area MT/V5.

• DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.4121-10.2011
• 发表时间: 2011-01-26
• 期刊: The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience
• 作者: Tadin D;Silvanto J;Pascual-Leone A;Battelli L
• 通讯作者: Battelli L

The metamodal organization of the brain.

• DOI: 10.1016/s0079-6123(01)34028-1
• 发表时间: 2001
• 期刊: Progress in brain research
• 作者: Á. Pascual-Leone;R. Hamilton

Modulation of right motor cortex excitability without awareness following presentation of masked self-images.

在呈现掩盖的自我形象后，在无意识的情况下调节右运动皮层的兴奋性。

• DOI: 10.1016/j.cogbrainres.2004.01.003
• 发表时间: 2004
• 期刊: Brain research. Cognitive brain research.
• 作者: Theoret,Hugo;Kobayashi,Masahito;Merabet,Lotfi;Wagner,Tim;Tormos,JoseMaria;Pascual-Leone,Alvaro
• 通讯作者: Pascual-Leone,Alvaro

Modulation of steady-state auditory evoked potentials by cerebellar rTMS.

小脑 rTMS 调节稳态听觉诱发电位。

• DOI: 10.1007/s00221-006-0588-2
• 发表时间: 2006
• 期刊: Experimental brain research
• 影响因子: 2
• 作者: Pastor,MariaA;Thut,Gregor;Pascual-Leone,Alvaro
• 通讯作者: Pascual-Leone,Alvaro