Brain Advance Access originally published online on January 5, 2005
Brain 2005 128(3):606-614; doi:10.1093/brain/awh380
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cross-modal plasticity revealed by electrotactile stimulation of the tongue in the congenitally blind
1 PET-Centre and CFIN, Aarhus University Hospitals, Aarhus, Denmark and 2 Ecole d'Optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal (Quebec), Canada
Correspondence: M. Ptito, School of Optometry, Université de Montréal, CP 6128, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3C 3J7 E-mail: maurice.ptito{at}umontreal.ca
In sensory substitution, information acquired with one sensory modality is used to accomplish a task which is normally subserved primarily by another sensory modality. We used PET to study cross-modal plasticity in the congenitally blind, using electrotactile stimulation of the tongue. Blind (n = 6) and sighted blindfolded controls (n = 5) were scanned before and after they were trained to use their tongue in a Snellen orientation detection task. Results showed that both groups of subjects learned the discrimination orientation task after seven 1 h training sessions. Before training, no significant changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) were observed in the occipital cortex in either group. In sharp contrast, activity in the occipital cortex increased after practice for the blind, but not for the sighted, providing evidence for training-induced plasticity in the blind. An inter-regional correlation analysis showed that task-related rCBF changes in left posterior parietal cortex were positively correlated with rCBF changes in the occipital area of the trained blind. These data reveal that cross-modal plasticity in the blind develops rapidly and that the occipital cortex is part of a functional neural network for tactile discrimination in conjunction with the posterior parietal cortex. Our data further show that the tongue can act as a portal to convey somatosensory information to visual cortex.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  R. Kupers, F. C. G. Schneider, R. Christensen, A. Naert, H. Husted, O. B. Paulson, and H. Kehlet No Evidence for Generalized Increased Postoperative Responsiveness to Pain: A Combined Behavioral and Serial Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study Anesth. Analg., August 1, 2009; 109(2): 600 - 606. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Carbon, M. F. Ghilardi, M. Argyelan, V. Dhawan, S. B. Bressman, and D. Eidelberg Increased cerebellar activation during sequence learning in DYT1 carriers: an equiperformance study Brain, January 1, 2008; 131(1): 146 - 154. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Schmid, A. Nardone, A. M. De Nunzio, M. Schmid, and M. Schieppati Equilibrium during static and dynamic tasks in blind subjects: no evidence of cross-modal plasticity Brain, August 1, 2007; 130(8): 2097 - 2107. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. Kupers, M. Pappens, A. M. de Noordhout, J. Schoenen, M. Ptito, and A. Fumal rTMS of the occipital cortex abolishes Braille reading and repetition priming in blind subjects Neurology, February 27, 2007; 68(9): 691 - 693. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 O. Collignon, M. Lassonde, F. Lepore, D. Bastien, and C. Veraart Functional Cerebral Reorganization for Auditory Spatial Processing and Auditory Substitution of Vision in Early Blind Subjects Cereb Cortex, February 1, 2007; 17(2): 457 - 465. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. Kupers, A. Fumal, A. M. de Noordhout, A. Gjedde, J. Schoenen, and M. Ptito Transcranial magnetic stimulation of the visual cortex induces somatotopically organized qualia in blind subjects PNAS, August 29, 2006; 103(35): 13256 - 13260. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. Leal-Campanario, J. M. Delgado-Garcia, and A. Gruart Microstimulation of the somatosensory cortex can substitute for vibrissa stimulation during Pavlovian conditioning PNAS, June 27, 2006; 103(26): 10052 - 10057. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|