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Bertonati G, Amadeo MB, Campus C, Gori M. Task-dependent spatial processing in the visual cortex. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:5972-5981. [PMID: 37811869 PMCID: PMC10619374 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023] Open
Abstract
To solve spatial tasks, the human brain asks for support from the visual cortices. Nonetheless, representing spatial information is not fixed but depends on the reference frames in which the spatial inputs are involved. The present study investigates how the kind of spatial representations influences the recruitment of visual areas during multisensory spatial tasks. Our study tested participants in an electroencephalography experiment involving two audio-visual (AV) spatial tasks: a spatial bisection, in which participants estimated the relative position in space of an AV stimulus in relation to the position of two other stimuli, and a spatial localization, in which participants localized one AV stimulus in relation to themselves. Results revealed that spatial tasks specifically modulated the occipital event-related potentials (ERPs) after the onset of the stimuli. We observed a greater contralateral early occipital component (50-90 ms) when participants solved the spatial bisection, and a more robust later occipital response (110-160 ms) when they processed the spatial localization. This observation suggests that different spatial representations elicited by multisensory stimuli are sustained by separate neurophysiological mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- G. Bertonati
- Unit for Visually Impaired People (U‐VIP)Istituto Italiano di TecnologiaGenoaItaly
- Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering (DIBRIS)Università degli Studi di GenovaGenoaItaly
| | - M. B. Amadeo
- Unit for Visually Impaired People (U‐VIP)Istituto Italiano di TecnologiaGenoaItaly
| | - C. Campus
- Unit for Visually Impaired People (U‐VIP)Istituto Italiano di TecnologiaGenoaItaly
| | - M. Gori
- Unit for Visually Impaired People (U‐VIP)Istituto Italiano di TecnologiaGenoaItaly
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2
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Esposito D, Bollini A, Gori M. The Suite for the Assessment of Low-Level cues on Orientation (SALLO): The psychophysics of spatial orientation in virtual reality. Behav Res Methods 2023:10.3758/s13428-023-02265-4. [PMID: 37932625 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-023-02265-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023]
Abstract
Spatial orientation is a complex ability that emerges from the interaction of several systems in a way that is still unclear. One of the reasons limiting the research on the topic is the lack of methodologies aimed at studying multimodal psychophysics in an ecological manner and with affordable settings. Virtual reality can provide a workaround to this impasse by using virtual stimuli rather than real ones. However, the available virtual reality development platforms are not meant for psychophysical testing; therefore, using them as such can be very difficult for newcomers, especially the ones new to coding. For this reason, we developed SALLO, the Suite for the Assessment of Low-Level cues on Orientation, which is a suite of utilities that simplifies assessing the psychophysics of multimodal spatial orientation in virtual reality. The tools in it cover all the fundamental steps to design a psychophysical experiment. Plus, dedicated tracks guide the users in extending the suite components to simplify developing new experiments. An experimental use-case used SALLO and virtual reality to show that the head posture affects both the egocentric and the allocentric mental representations of spatial orientation. Such a use-case demonstrated how SALLO and virtual reality can be used to accelerate hypothesis testing concerning the psychophysics of spatial orientation and, more broadly, how the community of researchers in the field may benefit from such a tool to carry out their investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Esposito
- U-VIP: Unit for Visually Impaired People, Center of Human Technology, Italian Institute of Technology, 16152, Genoa, Italy.
- RAISE ecosystem, Genova, Italy.
| | - Alice Bollini
- U-VIP: Unit for Visually Impaired People, Center of Human Technology, Italian Institute of Technology, 16152, Genoa, Italy
| | - Monica Gori
- U-VIP: Unit for Visually Impaired People, Center of Human Technology, Italian Institute of Technology, 16152, Genoa, Italy
- RAISE ecosystem, Genova, Italy
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3
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Casado-Palacios M, Tonelli A, Campus C, Gori M. Movement-related tactile gating in blindness. Sci Rep 2023; 13:16553. [PMID: 37783746 PMCID: PMC10545755 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-43526-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023] Open
Abstract
When we perform an action, self-elicited movement induces suppression of somatosensory information to the cortex, requiring a correct motor-sensory and inter-sensory (i.e. cutaneous senses, kinesthesia, and proprioception) integration processes to be successful. However, recent works show that blindness might impact some of these elements. The current study investigates the effect of movement on tactile perception and the role of vision in this process. We measured the velocity discrimination threshold in 18 sighted and 18 blind individuals by having them perceive a sequence of two movements and discriminate the faster one in passive and active touch conditions. Participants' Just Noticeable Difference (JND) was measured to quantify their precision. Results showed a generally worse performance during the active touch condition compared to the passive. In particular, this difference was significant in the blind group, regardless of the blindness duration, but not in the sighted one. These findings suggest that the absence of visual calibration impacts motor-sensory and inter-sensory integration required during movement, diminishing the reliability of tactile signals in blind individuals. Our work spotlights the need for intervention in this population and should be considered in the sensory substitution/reinforcement device design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Casado-Palacios
- DIBRIS, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
- UVIP- Unit for Visually Impaired People, Italian Institute of Technology, Genoa, Italy
| | - Alessia Tonelli
- UVIP- Unit for Visually Impaired People, Italian Institute of Technology, Genoa, Italy
| | - Claudio Campus
- UVIP- Unit for Visually Impaired People, Italian Institute of Technology, Genoa, Italy
| | - Monica Gori
- UVIP- Unit for Visually Impaired People, Italian Institute of Technology, Genoa, Italy.
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4
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Morelli F, Schiatti L, Cappagli G, Martolini C, Gori M, Signorini S. Clinical assessment of the TechArm system on visually impaired and blind children during uni- and multi-sensory perception tasks. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1158438. [PMID: 37332868 PMCID: PMC10272406 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1158438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023] Open
Abstract
We developed the TechArm system as a novel technological tool intended for visual rehabilitation settings. The system is designed to provide a quantitative assessment of the stage of development of perceptual and functional skills that are normally vision-dependent, and to be integrated in customized training protocols. Indeed, the system can provide uni- and multisensory stimulation, allowing visually impaired people to train their capability of correctly interpreting non-visual cues from the environment. Importantly, the TechArm is suitable to be used by very young children, when the rehabilitative potential is maximal. In the present work, we validated the TechArm system on a pediatric population of low-vision, blind, and sighted children. In particular, four TechArm units were used to deliver uni- (audio or tactile) or multi-sensory stimulation (audio-tactile) on the participant's arm, and subject was asked to evaluate the number of active units. Results showed no significant difference among groups (normal or impaired vision). Overall, we observed the best performance in tactile condition, while auditory accuracy was around chance level. Also, we found that the audio-tactile condition is better than the audio condition alone, suggesting that multisensory stimulation is beneficial when perceptual accuracy and precision are low. Interestingly, we observed that for low-vision children the accuracy in audio condition improved proportionally to the severity of the visual impairment. Our findings confirmed the TechArm system's effectiveness in assessing perceptual competencies in sighted and visually impaired children, and its potential to be used to develop personalized rehabilitation programs for people with visual and sensory impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Morelli
- Developmental Neuro-Ophthalmology Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Lucia Schiatti
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab and Center for Brains, Minds and Machines, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA, United States
- Unit for Visually Impaired People, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Giulia Cappagli
- Developmental Neuro-Ophthalmology Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
- Unit for Visually Impaired People, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Chiara Martolini
- Developmental Neuro-Ophthalmology Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Monica Gori
- Unit for Visually Impaired People, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Sabrina Signorini
- Developmental Neuro-Ophthalmology Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
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5
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Paré S, Bleau M, Dricot L, Ptito M, Kupers R. Brain structural changes in blindness: a systematic review and an anatomical likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 150:105165. [PMID: 37054803 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Revised: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/09/2023] [Indexed: 04/15/2023]
Abstract
In recent decades, numerous structural brain imaging studies investigated purported morphometric changes in early (EB) and late onset blindness (LB). The results of these studies have not yielded very consistent results, neither with respect to the type, nor to the anatomical locations of the brain morphometric alterations. To better characterize the effects of blindness on brain morphometry, we performed a systematic review and an Anatomical-Likelihood-Estimation (ALE) coordinate-based-meta-analysis of 65 eligible studies on brain structural changes in EB and LB, including 890 EB, 466 LB and 1257 sighted controls. Results revealed atrophic changes throughout the whole extent of the retino-geniculo-striate system in both EB and LB, whereas changes in areas beyond the occipital lobe occurred in EB only. We discuss the nature of some of the contradictory findings with respect to the used brain imaging methodologies and characteristics of the blind populations such as the onset, duration and cause of blindness. Future studies should aim for much larger sample sizes, eventually by merging data from different brain imaging centers using the same imaging sequences, opt for multimodal structural brain imaging, and go beyond a purely structural approach by combining functional with structural connectivity network analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Paré
- School of Optometry, University of Montreal, Montreal, Qc, Canada
| | - Maxime Bleau
- School of Optometry, University of Montreal, Montreal, Qc, Canada
| | - Laurence Dricot
- Institute of NeuroScience (IoNS), Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - Maurice Ptito
- School of Optometry, University of Montreal, Montreal, Qc, Canada; Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Qc, Canada; Department of Neuroscience, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ron Kupers
- School of Optometry, University of Montreal, Montreal, Qc, Canada; Institute of NeuroScience (IoNS), Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Bruxelles, Belgium; Department of Neuroscience, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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6
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Martolini C, Amadeo MB, Campus C, Cappagli G, Gori M. Effects of audio-motor training on spatial representations in long-term late blindness. Neuropsychologia 2022; 176:108391. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Revised: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 10/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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7
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Senna I, Piller S, Gori M, Ernst M. The power of vision: calibration of auditory space after sight restoration from congenital cataracts. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220768. [PMID: 36196538 PMCID: PMC9532985 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Early visual deprivation typically results in spatial impairments in other sensory modalities. It has been suggested that, since vision provides the most accurate spatial information, it is used for calibrating space in the other senses. Here we investigated whether sight restoration after prolonged early onset visual impairment can lead to the development of more accurate auditory space perception. We tested participants who were surgically treated for congenital dense bilateral cataracts several years after birth. In Experiment 1 we assessed participants' ability to understand spatial relationships among sounds, by asking them to spatially bisect three consecutive, laterally separated sounds. Participants performed better after surgery than participants tested before. However, they still performed worse than sighted controls. In Experiment 2, we demonstrated that single sound localization in the two-dimensional frontal plane improves quickly after surgery, approaching performance levels of sighted controls. Such recovery seems to be mediated by visual acuity, as participants gaining higher post-surgical visual acuity performed better in both experiments. These findings provide strong support for the hypothesis that vision calibrates auditory space perception. Importantly, this also demonstrates that this process can occur even when vision is restored after years of visual deprivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Senna
- Applied Cognitive Psychology, Faculty for Computer Science, Engineering, and Psychology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Sophia Piller
- Applied Cognitive Psychology, Faculty for Computer Science, Engineering, and Psychology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Monica Gori
- Unit for Visually Impaired People (U-VIP), Center for Human Technologies, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, Italy
| | - Marc Ernst
- Applied Cognitive Psychology, Faculty for Computer Science, Engineering, and Psychology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
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Gori M, Bertonati G, Campus C, Amadeo MB. Multisensory representations of space and time in sensory cortices. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 44:656-667. [PMID: 36169038 PMCID: PMC9842891 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Revised: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Clear evidence demonstrated a supramodal organization of sensory cortices with multisensory processing occurring even at early stages of information encoding. Within this context, early recruitment of sensory areas is necessary for the development of fine domain-specific (i.e., spatial or temporal) skills regardless of the sensory modality involved, with auditory areas playing a crucial role in temporal processing and visual areas in spatial processing. Given the domain-specificity and the multisensory nature of sensory areas, in this study, we hypothesized that preferential domains of representation (i.e., space and time) of visual and auditory cortices are also evident in the early processing of multisensory information. Thus, we measured the event-related potential (ERP) responses of 16 participants while performing multisensory spatial and temporal bisection tasks. Audiovisual stimuli occurred at three different spatial positions and time lags and participants had to evaluate whether the second stimulus was spatially (spatial bisection task) or temporally (temporal bisection task) farther from the first or third audiovisual stimulus. As predicted, the second audiovisual stimulus of both spatial and temporal bisection tasks elicited an early ERP response (time window 50-90 ms) in visual and auditory regions. However, this early ERP component was more substantial in the occipital areas during the spatial bisection task, and in the temporal regions during the temporal bisection task. Overall, these results confirmed the domain specificity of visual and auditory cortices and revealed that this aspect selectively modulates also the cortical activity in response to multisensory stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Gori
- Unit for Visually Impaired People (U‐VIP)Istituto Italiano di TecnologiaGenoaItaly
| | - Giorgia Bertonati
- Unit for Visually Impaired People (U‐VIP)Istituto Italiano di TecnologiaGenoaItaly,Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering (DIBRIS)Università degli Studi di GenovaGenoaItaly
| | - Claudio Campus
- Unit for Visually Impaired People (U‐VIP)Istituto Italiano di TecnologiaGenoaItaly
| | - Maria Bianca Amadeo
- Unit for Visually Impaired People (U‐VIP)Istituto Italiano di TecnologiaGenoaItaly
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9
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Leo F, Gori M, Sciutti A. Early blindness modulates haptic object recognition. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:941593. [PMID: 36158621 PMCID: PMC9498977 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.941593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Haptic object recognition is usually an efficient process although slower and less accurate than its visual counterpart. The early loss of vision imposes a greater reliance on haptic perception for recognition compared to the sighted. Therefore, we may expect that congenitally blind persons could recognize objects through touch more quickly and accurately than late blind or sighted people. However, the literature provided mixed results. Furthermore, most of the studies on haptic object recognition focused on performance, devoting little attention to the exploration procedures that conducted to that performance. In this study, we used iCube, an instrumented cube recording its orientation in space as well as the location of the points of contact on its faces. Three groups of congenitally blind, late blind and age and gender-matched blindfolded sighted participants were asked to explore the cube faces where little pins were positioned in varying number. Participants were required to explore the cube twice, reporting whether the cube was the same or it differed in pins disposition. Results showed that recognition accuracy was not modulated by the level of visual ability. However, congenitally blind touched more cells simultaneously while exploring the faces and changed more the pattern of touched cells from one recording sample to the next than late blind and sighted. Furthermore, the number of simultaneously touched cells negatively correlated with exploration duration. These findings indicate that early blindness shapes haptic exploration of objects that can be held in hands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabrizio Leo
- Cognitive Architecture for Collaborative Technologies Unit, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
- *Correspondence: Fabrizio Leo,
| | - Monica Gori
- Unit for Visually Impaired People, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Alessandra Sciutti
- Cognitive Architecture for Collaborative Technologies Unit, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
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Mortazavi M, Aigner K, Antono JE, Gambacorta C, Nahum M, Levi DM, Föcker J. Intramodal cortical plastic changes after moderate visual impairment in human amblyopia. iScience 2022; 25:104871. [PMID: 36034215 PMCID: PMC9403333 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 10/28/2022] Open
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11
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Late development of audio-visual integration in the vertical plane. CURRENT RESEARCH IN BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.crbeha.2021.100043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
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12
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Partial visual loss disrupts the relationship between judged room size and sound source distance. Exp Brain Res 2021; 240:81-96. [PMID: 34623459 PMCID: PMC8803715 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-021-06235-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 09/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Visual spatial information plays an important role in calibrating auditory space. Blindness results in deficits in a number of auditory abilities, which have been explained in terms of the hypothesis that visual information is needed to calibrate audition. When judging the size of a novel room when only auditory cues are available, normally sighted participants may use the location of the farthest sound source to infer the nearest possible distance of the far wall. However, for people with partial visual loss (distinct from blindness in that some vision is present), such a strategy may not be reliable if vision is needed to calibrate auditory cues for distance. In the current study, participants were presented with sounds at different distances (ranging from 1.2 to 13.8 m) in a simulated reverberant (T60 = 700 ms) or anechoic room. Farthest distance judgments and room size judgments (volume and area) were obtained from blindfolded participants (18 normally sighted, 38 partially sighted) for speech, music, and noise stimuli. With sighted participants, the judged room volume and farthest sound source distance estimates were positively correlated (p < 0.05) for all conditions. Participants with visual losses showed no significant correlations for any of the conditions tested. A similar pattern of results was observed for the correlations between farthest distance and room floor area estimates. Results demonstrate that partial visual loss disrupts the relationship between judged room size and sound source distance that is shown by sighted participants.
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Ptito M, Bleau M, Djerourou I, Paré S, Schneider FC, Chebat DR. Brain-Machine Interfaces to Assist the Blind. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:638887. [PMID: 33633557 PMCID: PMC7901898 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.638887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The loss or absence of vision is probably one of the most incapacitating events that can befall a human being. The importance of vision for humans is also reflected in brain anatomy as approximately one third of the human brain is devoted to vision. It is therefore unsurprising that throughout history many attempts have been undertaken to develop devices aiming at substituting for a missing visual capacity. In this review, we present two concepts that have been prevalent over the last two decades. The first concept is sensory substitution, which refers to the use of another sensory modality to perform a task that is normally primarily sub-served by the lost sense. The second concept is cross-modal plasticity, which occurs when loss of input in one sensory modality leads to reorganization in brain representation of other sensory modalities. Both phenomena are training-dependent. We also briefly describe the history of blindness from ancient times to modernity, and then proceed to address the means that have been used to help blind individuals, with an emphasis on modern technologies, invasive (various type of surgical implants) and non-invasive devices. With the advent of brain imaging, it has become possible to peer into the neural substrates of sensory substitution and highlight the magnitude of the plastic processes that lead to a rewired brain. Finally, we will address the important question of the value and practicality of the available technologies and future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maurice Ptito
- École d’Optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Maxime Bleau
- École d’Optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Ismaël Djerourou
- École d’Optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Samuel Paré
- École d’Optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Fabien C. Schneider
- TAPE EA7423 University of Lyon-Saint Etienne, Saint Etienne, France
- Neuroradiology Unit, University Hospital of Saint-Etienne, Saint-Etienne, France
| | - Daniel-Robert Chebat
- Visual and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory (VCN Lab), Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ariel University, Ariel, Israël
- Navigation and Accessibility Research Center of Ariel University (NARCA), Ariel, Israël
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Arbel R, Heimler B, Amedi A. The sound of reading: Color-to-timbre substitution boosts reading performance via OVAL, a novel auditory orthography optimized for visual-to-auditory mapping. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0242619. [PMID: 33237931 PMCID: PMC7688106 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 11/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Reading is a unique human cognitive skill and its acquisition was proven to extensively affect both brain organization and neuroanatomy. Differently from western sighted individuals, literacy rates via tactile reading systems, such as Braille, are declining, thus imposing an alarming threat to literacy among non-visual readers. This decline is due to many reasons including the length of training needed to master Braille, which must also include extensive tactile sensitivity exercises, the lack of proper Braille instruction and the high costs of Braille devices. The far-reaching consequences of low literacy rates, raise the need to develop alternative, cheap and easy-to-master non-visual reading systems. To this aim, we developed OVAL, a new auditory orthography based on a visual-to-auditory sensory-substitution algorithm. Here we present its efficacy for successful words-reading, and investigation of the extent to which redundant features defining characters (i.e., adding specific colors to letters conveyed into audition via different musical instruments) facilitate or impede auditory reading outcomes. Thus, we tested two groups of blindfolded sighted participants who were either exposed to a monochromatic or to a color version of OVAL. First, we showed that even before training, all participants were able to discriminate between 11 OVAL characters significantly more than chance level. Following 6 hours of specific OVAL training, participants were able to identify all the learned characters, differentiate them from untrained letters, and read short words/pseudo-words of up to 5 characters. The Color group outperformed the Monochromatic group in all tasks, suggesting that redundant characters' features are beneficial for auditory reading. Overall, these results suggest that OVAL is a promising auditory-reading tool that can be used by blind individuals, by people with reading deficits as well as for the investigation of reading specific processing dissociated from the visual modality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roni Arbel
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hadassah Ein-Carem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Benedetta Heimler
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hadassah Ein-Carem, Jerusalem, Israel
- The Baruch Ivcher Institute For Brain, Cognition & Technology, The Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Amir Amedi
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hadassah Ein-Carem, Jerusalem, Israel
- The Baruch Ivcher Institute For Brain, Cognition & Technology, The Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Herzliya, Israel
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15
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Bertonati G, Tonelli A, Cuturi LF, Setti W, Gori M. Assessment of spatial reasoning in blind individuals using a haptic version of the Kohs Block Design Test. CURRENT RESEARCH IN BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.crbeha.2020.100004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
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16
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Amadeo MB, Campus C, Gori M. Years of Blindness Lead to "Visualize" Space Through Time. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:812. [PMID: 32848573 PMCID: PMC7418563 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2020] [Accepted: 07/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatial representation has been widely studied in early blindness, whereas research about late blindness is still limited. We recently demonstrated that the early (50-90 ms) event-related potential (ERP) response observed in sighted people during a spatial bisection task, is altered in early blind people and is influenced by the amount of time spent without vision in late blind individuals. Specifically, in late blind people a shorter period of blindness is associated with strong contralateral activation in occipital cortex and good performance during the spatial task-similar to that of sighted people. In contrast, non-lateralized occipital activation and lower performance characterize late blind individuals who have experienced a longer period of blindness-similar to that of early blind people. However, the same early occipital response activated in sighted individuals by spatial cues has been found to be activated by temporal cues in early blind individuals. Here, we investigate whether a similar temporal attraction can explain the neural and behavioral changes observed after many years of blindness in late blind people. An EEG recording was taken during a spatial bisection task where coherent and conflicting spatio-temporal information was presented. In participants with long blindness duration, the early recruitment of both visual and auditory areas is sensitive to temporal instead of spatial coordinates. These findings highlight some limits of neuroplasticity. Perceptual advantages from cross-sensory calibration during development seem to be subsequently lost following years of visual deprivation. This result has important implications for clinical outcomes following late blindness, highlighting the importance of timing in intervention and rehabilitation programs that activate compensatory strategies soon after sensory loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Bianca Amadeo
- Unit for Visually Impaired People, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
- Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering, Università degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Claudio Campus
- Unit for Visually Impaired People, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Monica Gori
- Unit for Visually Impaired People, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
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Gori M, Amadeo MB, Campus C. Temporal cues trick the visual and auditory cortices mimicking spatial cues in blind individuals. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 41:2077-2091. [PMID: 32048380 PMCID: PMC7267917 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2019] [Revised: 01/03/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
In the absence of vision, spatial representation may be altered. When asked to compare the relative distances between three sounds (i.e., auditory spatial bisection task), blind individuals demonstrate significant deficits and do not show an event-related potential response mimicking the visual C1 reported in sighted people. However, we have recently demonstrated that the spatial deficit disappears if coherent time and space cues are presented to blind people, suggesting that they may use time information to infer spatial maps. In this study, we examined whether the modification of temporal cues during space evaluation altered the recruitment of the visual and auditory cortices in blind individuals. We demonstrated that the early (50-90 ms) occipital response, mimicking the visual C1, is not elicited by the physical position of the sound, but by its virtual position suggested by its temporal delay. Even more impressively, in the same time window, the auditory cortex also showed this pattern and responded to temporal instead of spatial coordinates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Gori
- U-VIP Unit for Visually Impaired People, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Maria Bianca Amadeo
- U-VIP Unit for Visually Impaired People, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Claudio Campus
- U-VIP Unit for Visually Impaired People, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
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18
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Chebat DR, Schneider FC, Ptito M. Neural Networks Mediating Perceptual Learning in Congenital Blindness. Sci Rep 2020; 10:495. [PMID: 31949207 PMCID: PMC6965659 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-57217-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the fact that complete visual deprivation leads to volumetric reductions in brain structures associated with spatial learning, blind individuals are still able to navigate. The neural structures involved in this function are not fully understood. Our study aims to correlate the performance of congenitally blind individuals (CB) and blindfolded sighted controls (SC) in a life-size obstacle-course using a visual-to-tactile sensory substitution device, with the size of brain structures (voxel based morphometry-VBM-) measured through structural magnetic resonance Imaging (MRI). VBM was used to extract grey matter volumes within several a-priori defined brain regions in all participants. Principal component analysis was utilized to group brain regions in factors and orthogonalize brain volumes. Regression analyses were then performed to link learning abilities to these factors. We found that (1) both CB and SC were able to learn to detect and avoid obstacles; (2) their learning rates for obstacle detection and avoidance correlated significantly with the volume of brain structures known to be involved in spatial skills. There is a similar relation between regions of the dorsal stream network and avoidance for both SC and CB whereas for detection, SC rely more on medial temporal lobe structures and CB on sensorimotor areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel-Robert Chebat
- Visual and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory (VCN Lab), Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel. .,Navigation and Accessibility Research Center of Ariel University (NARCA), Ariel, Israel.
| | - Fabien C Schneider
- University of Lyon, Saint-Etienne, F-42023, France.,Neuroradiology Unit, University Hospital of Saint-Etienne, Saint-Etienne, France
| | - Maurice Ptito
- BRAINlab, Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Chaire de recherche Harland Sanders en Sciences de la Vision, École d'Optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
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Gori M, Amadeo MB, Campus C. Spatial metric in blindness: behavioural and cortical processing. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 109:54-62. [PMID: 31899299 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.12.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2019] [Revised: 11/30/2019] [Accepted: 12/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Visual modality dominates spatial perception and, in lack of vision, space representation might be altered. Here we review our work showing that blind individuals have a strong deficit when performing spatial bisection tasks (Gori et al., 2014). We also describe the neural correlates associated with this deficit, as blind individuals do not show the same ERP response mimicking the visual C1 reported in sighted people during spatial bisection (Campus et al., 2019). Interestingly, the deficit is not always evident in late blind individuals, and it is dependent on blindness duration. We report that the deficit disappears when one presents coherent temporal and spatial cues to blind people. This suggests that they may use time information to infer spatial maps (Gori et al., 2018). Finally, we propose a model to explain why blind individuals are impaired in this task, speculating that a lack of vision drives the construction of a multi-sensory cortical network that codes space based on temporal, rather than spatial, coordinates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Gori
- U-VIP Unit for Visually Impaired People, Fondazione Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, Via E. Melen, 83, 16152 Genova, Italy.
| | - Maria Bianca Amadeo
- U-VIP Unit for Visually Impaired People, Fondazione Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, Via E. Melen, 83, 16152 Genova, Italy; Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering, Università Degli Studi Di Genova, via all'Opera Pia, 13, 16145 Genova, Italy
| | - Claudio Campus
- U-VIP Unit for Visually Impaired People, Fondazione Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, Via E. Melen, 83, 16152 Genova, Italy
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Amadeo MB, Campus C, Gori M. Time attracts auditory space representation during development. Behav Brain Res 2019; 376:112185. [PMID: 31472192 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2019] [Revised: 08/16/2019] [Accepted: 08/28/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Vision is the most accurate sense for spatial representation, whereas audition is for temporal representation. However, how different sensory modalities shape the development of spatial and temporal representations is still unclear. Here, 45 children aged 11-13 years were tested to investigate the abilities to evaluate spatial features of auditory stimuli during bisection tasks, while conflicting or non-conflicting spatial and temporal information was delivered. Since audition is fundamental for temporal representation, the hypothesis was that temporal information could influence auditory spatial representation development. Results show a strong interaction between the temporal and the spatial domain. Younger children are not able to build complex spatial representations when the temporal domain is uninformative about space. However, when the spatial information is coherent with the temporal information children of all age are able to decode complex spatial relationships. When spatial and temporal cues are conflicting, younger children are strongly attracted by the temporal instead of spatial information, while older participants result unaffected by the cross-domain conflict. These findings suggest that during development temporal representation of events is used to infer spatial coordinates of the environment, offering important opportunities for new teaching and rehabilitation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Bianca Amadeo
- Unit for Visually Impaired People (U-VIP), Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via E. Melen, 83, 16152 Genova Italy; Università degli studi di Genova, Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering, Via all'Opera Pia, 13, 16145 Genova Italy
| | - Claudio Campus
- Unit for Visually Impaired People (U-VIP), Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via E. Melen, 83, 16152 Genova Italy
| | - Monica Gori
- Unit for Visually Impaired People (U-VIP), Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via E. Melen, 83, 16152 Genova Italy.
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Battistin T, Mioni G, Schoch V, Bisiacchi PS. Comparison of temporal judgments in sighted and visually impaired children. RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2019; 95:103499. [PMID: 31586849 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2019.103499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2018] [Revised: 09/12/2019] [Accepted: 09/14/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
AIM We studied visually impaired and blind children to investigate the effects of visual damage on time perception. METHODS Sixty-three children (11 blind, 16 visually impaired, 20 sighted and 16 sighted but blindfolded) performed a temporal bisection task, which consisted of judging different temporal intervals presented in the auditory modality. RESULTS The visually impaired children showed lower constant error than sighted children but higher variability (Weber ratio). The blindfolded children had a temporal estimation comparable to the clinical groups and time sensitivity comparable to the controls. CONCLUSION These findings are interpreted in the light of inter-modality interference, assuming that the coexistence of both sensory modalities, present only in controls, leads to a trade-off between the two senses with an indirect contribution of sight, which does not happen either in the clinical groups or in the blindfolded children, despite the single sensory task.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Giovanna Mioni
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy
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Shim HJ, Go G, Lee H, Choi SW, Won JH. Influence of Visual Deprivation on Auditory Spectral Resolution, Temporal Resolution, and Speech Perception. Front Neurosci 2019; 13:1200. [PMID: 31780886 PMCID: PMC6851016 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2019.01200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 10/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
We evaluated whether blind subjects have advantages in auditory spectral resolution, temporal resolution, and speech perception in noise compared with sighted subjects. We also compared psychoacoustic performance between early blind (EB) subjects and late blind (LB) subjects. Nineteen EB subjects, 16 LB subjects, and 20 sighted individuals were enrolled. All subjects were right-handed with normal and symmetric hearing thresholds and without cognitive impairments. Three psychoacoustic measurements of the subjects’ right ears were performed via an inserted earphone to determine spectral-ripple discrimination (SRD), temporal modulation detection (TMD), and speech recognition threshold (SRT) in noisy conditions. Acoustic change complex (ACC) responses were recorded during passive listening to standard ripple-inverted ripple stimuli. EB subjects exhibited better SRD than did LB (p = 0.020) and sighted (p = 0.003) subjects. TMD was better in EB (p < 0.001) and LB (p = 0.007) subjects compared with sighted subjects. SRD was positively correlated with the duration of blindness (r = 0.386, p = 0.024). Acoustic change complex data for ripple noise change at the Cz and Fz electrodes showed trends toward significant correlations with the behavioral results. In conclusion, compared with sighted subjects, EB subjects showed advantages in terms of auditory spectral and temporal resolution, while LB subjects showed an advantage in temporal resolution exclusively. These findings suggest that it might take longer for auditory spectral resolution to functionally enhance following visual deprivation compared to temporal resolution. Alternatively, a critical period of very young age may be required for auditory spectral resolution to improve following visual deprivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyun Joon Shim
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Eulji Medical Center, Eulji University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Geurim Go
- Department of Psychology, Duksung Women's University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Heirim Lee
- Department of Psychology, Duksung Women's University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Sung Won Choi
- Department of Psychology, Duksung Women's University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Jong Ho Won
- Division of ENT, Sleep Disordered Breathing, Respiratory, and Anesthesia, Office of Product Evaluation and Quality, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, United States
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Amadeo MB, Campus C, Pavani F, Gori M. Spatial Cues Influence Time Estimations in Deaf Individuals. iScience 2019; 19:369-377. [PMID: 31415998 PMCID: PMC6702436 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2019.07.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2019] [Revised: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 07/26/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have reported a strong interaction between spatial and temporal representation when visual experience is missing: blind people use temporal representation of events to represent spatial metrics. Given the superiority of audition on time perception, we hypothesized that when audition is not available complex temporal representations could be impaired, and spatial representation of events could be used to build temporal metrics. To test this hypothesis, deaf and hearing subjects were tested with a visual temporal task where conflicting and not conflicting spatiotemporal information was delivered. As predicted, we observed a strong deficit of deaf participants when only temporal cues were useful and space was uninformative with respect to time. However, the deficit disappeared when coherent spatiotemporal cues were presented and increased for conflicting spatiotemporal stimuli. These results highlight that spatial cues influence time estimations in deaf participants, suggesting that deaf individuals use spatial information to infer temporal environmental coordinates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Bianca Amadeo
- U-VIP Unit for Visually Impaired People, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via E. Melen, 83, 16152 Genova, Italy; Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering, Università degli Studi di Genova, via all'Opera Pia, 13, 16145 Genova, Italy.
| | - Claudio Campus
- U-VIP Unit for Visually Impaired People, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via E. Melen, 83, 16152 Genova, Italy
| | - Francesco Pavani
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, CIMeC, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, 38068 Rovereto, Italy; Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 81, 38068 Rovereto, Italy; Centre de Recherche en Neuroscience de Lyon (CNRL), IMPACT, Avenue du doyen Lèpine 16, 69500 Bron, France
| | - Monica Gori
- U-VIP Unit for Visually Impaired People, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via E. Melen, 83, 16152 Genova, Italy
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