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He Y, Toft-Nielsen J, Legge G, Montezuma SR. Pattern-reversal visual evoked potentials in prosthetic vision and simulated visual reduction. BMJ Open Ophthalmol 2024; 9:e001705. [PMID: 39103235 PMCID: PMC11308878 DOI: 10.1136/bmjophth-2024-001705] [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: 03/10/2024] [Accepted: 07/12/2024] [Indexed: 08/07/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To quantitatively evaluate visual evoked potentials (VEPs) in prosthetic vision and simulated visual reduction. METHODS AND ANALYSIS Four blind patients implanted with the Argus II retinal prosthesis and seven sighted controls participated. VEPs were recorded with pattern-reversal stimuli (2 cycles of a horizontal square wave grating, 0.1 cycle/degree) at 1.07 reversals per second (rps) for Argus II subjects and 3.37 rps for controls. Argus II patients had both eyes patched, viewing the pattern solely through their implant. Controls viewed the pattern monocularly, either with their best-corrected vision or with simulated visual reduction (field restriction, added blur or reduced display contrast). RESULTS VEPs recorded in Argus II patients displayed a similar shape to normal VEPs when controls viewed the pattern without simulated visual reduction. In sighted controls, adding blur significantly delayed the P100 peak time by 8.7 ms, 95% CI (0.9, 16.6). Reducing stimulus contrast to 32% and 6% of full display contrast significantly decreased P100 amplitude to 55% (37%, 82%) and 20% (13%, 31%), respectively. Restriction on the field of view had no impact on either the amplitude or the peak latency of P100. CONCLUSION The early visual cortex in retinal prosthesis users remains responsive to retinal input, showing a similar response profile to that of sighted controls. Pattern-reversal VEP offers valuable insights for objectively evaluating artificial vision therapy systems (AVTSs) when selecting, fitting and training implant users, but the uncertainties in the exact timing and location of electrode stimulation must be considered when interpreting the results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingchen He
- Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Jonathon Toft-Nielsen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA
- Intelligent Hearing Systems, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Gordon Legge
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Sandra R Montezuma
- Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
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2
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Gilad-Gutnick S, Kurian GS, Gupta P, Shah P, Tiwari K, Ralekar C, Gandhi T, Ganesh S, Mathur U, Sinha P. Motion's privilege in recognizing facial expressions following treatment for blindness. Curr Biol 2024:S0960-9822(24)00949-7. [PMID: 39116886 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.07.046] [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: 02/23/2024] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 07/11/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024]
Abstract
In his 1872 monograph, Charles Darwin posited that "… the habit of expressing our feelings by certain movements, though now rendered innate, had been in some manner gradually acquired."1 Nearly 150 years later, researchers are still teasing apart innate versus experience-dependent contributions to expression recognition. Indeed, studies have shown that face detection is surprisingly resilient to early visual deprivation,2,3,4,5 pointing to plasticity that extends beyond dogmatic critical periods.6,7,8 However, it remains unclear whether such resilience extends to downstream processing, such as the ability to recognize facial expressions. The extent to which innate versus experience-dependent mechanisms contribute to this ability has yet to be fully explored.9,10,11,12,13 To investigate the impact of early visual experience on facial-expression recognition, we studied children with congenital cataracts who have undergone sight-correcting treatment14,15 and tracked their longitudinal skill acquisition as they gain sight late in life. We introduce and explore two potential facilitators of late-life plasticity: the availability of newborn-like coarse visual acuity prior to treatment16 and the privileged role of motion following treatment.4,17,18 We find that early visual deprivation does not preclude partial acquisition of facial-expression recognition. While rudimentary pretreatment vision is sufficient to allow a low level of expression recognition, it does not facilitate post-treatment improvements. Additionally, only children commencing vision with high visual acuity privilege the use of dynamic cues. We conclude that skipping typical visual experience early in development and introducing high-resolution imagery late in development restricts, but does not preclude, facial-expression skill acquisition and that the representational mechanisms driving this learning differ from those that emerge during typical visual development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharon Gilad-Gutnick
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Grace S Kurian
- University Hospital Centre and University of Lausanne (CHUV), Department of Radiology, Rue de Bugnon, CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Priti Gupta
- Project Prakash, Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital, New Delhi 110002, India
| | - Pragya Shah
- Project Prakash, Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital, New Delhi 110002, India
| | - Kashish Tiwari
- Project Prakash, Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital, New Delhi 110002, India
| | - Chetan Ralekar
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Tapan Gandhi
- Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi), Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Delhi Main Rd., New Delhi 110016, India
| | - Suma Ganesh
- Department of Pediatric Ophthalmology, Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital, New Delhi 110002, India
| | - Umang Mathur
- Department of Pediatric Ophthalmology, Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital, New Delhi 110002, India
| | - Pawan Sinha
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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3
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Versace E, Freeland L, Emmerson MG. First-sight recognition of touched objects shows that chicks can solve Molyneux's problem. Biol Lett 2024; 20:20240025. [PMID: 38565149 PMCID: PMC10987231 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2024.0025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
If a congenitally blind person learns to distinguish between a cube and a sphere by touch, would they immediately recognize these objects by sight once their vision is restored? This question, posed by Molyneux in 1688, has puzzled philosophers and scientists since then. To overcome ethical and practical difficulties in the investigation of cross-modal recognition, we studied inexperienced poultry chicks, which can be reared in darkness until the moment of a visual test with no detrimental consequences. After hatching chicks in darkness, we exposed them to either tactile smooth or tactile bumpy stimuli for 24 h. Immediately after the tactile exposure, chicks were tested in a visual recognition task, during their first experience with light. At first sight, chicks that had been exposed in the tactile modality to smooth stimuli approached the visual smooth stimulus significantly more than those exposed to the tactile bumpy stimuli. These results show that visually inexperienced chicks can solve Molyneux's problem, indicating cross-modal recognition does not require previous multimodal experience. At least in this precocial species, supra-modal brain areas appear functional already at birth. This discovery paves the way for the investigation of predisposed cross-modal cognition that does not depend on visual experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabetta Versace
- Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, 327 Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Laura Freeland
- Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, 327 Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Michael G Emmerson
- Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, 327 Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
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4
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Li J, Cheng Z, Li J, Li L, Chen L, Tao J, Wang Z, Wu D, Zhang P. Short-term monocular pattern deprivation reduces the internal additive noise of the visual system. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1155034. [PMID: 37588514 PMCID: PMC10426733 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1155034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that short-term monocular pattern deprivation can shift perceptual dominance in favor of the deprived eye. However, little is known about the effect of monocular pattern deprivation on contrast sensitivity (CS) and its corresponding mechanisms. Here, contrast sensitivity function (CSF) in the nondominant eye of normal subjects was evaluated before and after 150 min of monocular pattern deprivation. To obtain a CSF with high precision and efficiency before deprivation effect washout, a quick CSF (qCSF) method was used to assess CS over a wide range of spatial frequencies and at two external noise levels. We found that (1) monocular pattern deprivation effectively improved the CS of the deprived eye with larger effect on high spatial frequencies, (2) CS improvement only occurred when external noise was absent and its amount was spatial frequency dependent, and (3) a perceptual template model (PTM) revealed that decreased internal additive noise accounted for the mechanism of the monocular pattern derivation effect. These findings help us better understand the features of short-term monocular pattern deprivation and shed light on the treatment of amblyopia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinwei Li
- Department of Psychology, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Zhenhui Cheng
- Department of Psychology, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Jing Li
- Department of Psychology, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Linghe Li
- Department of Psychology, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Lijun Chen
- Department of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China
| | - Jiayu Tao
- Department of Psychology, Chengde Medical University, Chengde, China
| | - Zeng Wang
- Department of Psychology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Di Wu
- Military Medical Psychology School, Air Force Medical University, Xi’an, China
| | - Pan Zhang
- Department of Psychology, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
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5
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Vannuscorps G, Galaburda A, Caramazza A. From intermediate shape-centered representations to the perception of oriented shapes: response to commentaries. Cogn Neuropsychol 2023; 40:71-94. [PMID: 37642330 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2023.2250511] [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: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
In this response paper, we start by addressing the main points made by the commentators on the target article's main theoretical conclusions: the existence and characteristics of the intermediate shape-centered representations (ISCRs) in the visual system, their emergence from edge detection mechanisms operating on different types of visual properties, and how they are eventually reunited in higher order frames of reference underlying conscious visual perception. We also address the much-commented issue of the possible neural mechanisms of the ISCRs. In the final section, we address more specific and general comments, questions, and suggestions which, albeit very interesting, were less directly focused on the main conclusions of the target paper.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilles Vannuscorps
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Institute of Psychological Sciences, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Louvain Bionics, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Albert Galaburda
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alfonso Caramazza
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), Università degli Studi di Trento, Rovereto, Italy
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6
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Linton P, Morgan MJ, Read JCA, Vishwanath D, Creem-Regehr SH, Domini F. New Approaches to 3D Vision. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210443. [PMID: 36511413 PMCID: PMC9745878 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
New approaches to 3D vision are enabling new advances in artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles, a better understanding of how animals navigate the 3D world, and new insights into human perception in virtual and augmented reality. Whilst traditional approaches to 3D vision in computer vision (SLAM: simultaneous localization and mapping), animal navigation (cognitive maps), and human vision (optimal cue integration) start from the assumption that the aim of 3D vision is to provide an accurate 3D model of the world, the new approaches to 3D vision explored in this issue challenge this assumption. Instead, they investigate the possibility that computer vision, animal navigation, and human vision can rely on partial or distorted models or no model at all. This issue also highlights the implications for artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, human perception in virtual and augmented reality, and the treatment of visual disorders, all of which are explored by individual articles. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'New approaches to 3D vision'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Linton
- Presidential Scholars in Society and Neuroscience, Center for Science and Society, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
- Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
- Visual Inference Lab, Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Michael J. Morgan
- Department of Optometry and Visual Sciences, City, University of London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK
| | - Jenny C. A. Read
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear NE2 4HH, UK
| | - Dhanraj Vishwanath
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9JP, UK
| | | | - Fulvio Domini
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912-9067, USA
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7
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Linton P. Minimal theory of 3D vision: new approach to visual scale and visual shape. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210455. [PMID: 36511406 PMCID: PMC9745885 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Since Kepler and Descartes in the early-1600s, vision science has been committed to a triangulation model of stereo vision. But in the early-1800s, we realized that disparities are responsible for stereo vision. And we have spent the past 200 years trying to shoe-horn disparities back into the triangulation account. The first part of this article argues that this is a mistake, and that stereo vision is a solution to a different problem: the eradication of rivalry between the two retinal images, rather than the triangulation of objects in space. This leads to a 'minimal theory of 3D vision', where 3D vision is no longer tied to estimating the scale, shape, and direction of objects in the world. The second part of this article then asks whether the other aspects of 3D vision, which go beyond stereo vision, really operate at the same level of visual experience as stereo vision? I argue they do not. Whilst we want a theory of real-world 3D vision, the literature risks giving us a theory of picture perception instead. And I argue for a two-stage theory, where our purely internal 'minimal' 3D percept (from stereo vision) is linked to the world through cognition. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'New approaches to 3D vision'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Linton
- Presidential Scholars in Society and Neuroscience, Center for Science and Society, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA,Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA,Visual Inference Lab, Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
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8
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Fine I, Park WJ. Do you hear what I see? How do early blind individuals experience object motion? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210460. [PMID: 36511418 PMCID: PMC9745882 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0460] [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: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the most important tasks for 3D vision is tracking the movement of objects in space. The ability of early blind individuals to understand motion in the environment from noisy and unreliable auditory information is an impressive example of cortical adaptation that is only just beginning to be understood. Here, we compare visual and auditory motion processing, and discuss the effect of early blindness on the perception of auditory motion. Blindness leads to cross-modal recruitment of the visual motion area hMT+ for auditory motion processing. Meanwhile, the planum temporale, associated with auditory motion in sighted individuals, shows reduced selectivity for auditory motion. We discuss how this dramatic shift in the cortical basis of motion processing might influence the perceptual experience of motion in early blind individuals. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'New approaches to 3D vision'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ione Fine
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1525, USA
| | - Woon Ju Park
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1525, USA
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9
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Maimon A, Netzer O, Heimler B, Amedi A. Testing geometry and 3D perception in children following vision restoring cataract-removal surgery. Front Neurosci 2023; 16:962817. [PMID: 36711132 PMCID: PMC9879291 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.962817] [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: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
As neuroscience and rehabilitative techniques advance, age-old questions concerning the visual experience of those who gain sight after blindness, once thought to be philosophical alone, take center stage and become the target for scientific inquiries. In this study, we employ a battery of visual perception tasks to study the unique experience of a small group of children who have undergone vision-restoring cataract removal surgery as part of the Himalayan Cataract Project. We tested their abilities to perceive in three dimensions (3D) using a binocular rivalry task and the Brock string task, perceive visual illusions, use cross-modal mappings between touch and vision, and spatially group based on geometric cues. Some of the children in this study gained a sense of sight for the first time in their lives, having been born with bilateral congenital cataracts, while others suffered late-onset blindness in one eye alone. This study simultaneously supports yet raises further questions concerning Hubel and Wiesel's critical periods theory and provides additional insight into Molyneux's problem, the ability to correlate vision with touch quickly. We suggest that our findings present a relatively unexplored intermediate stage of 3D vision development. Importantly, we spotlight some essential geometrical perception visual abilities that strengthen the idea that spontaneous geometry intuitions arise independently from visual experience (and education), thus replicating and extending previous studies. We incorporate a new model, not previously explored, of testing children with congenital cataract removal surgeries who perform the task via vision. In contrast, previous work has explored these abilities in the congenitally blind via touch. Taken together, our findings provide insight into the development of what is commonly known as the visual system in the visually deprived and highlight the need to further empirically explore an amodal, task-based interpretation of specializations in the development and structure of the brain. Moreover, we propose a novel objective method, based on a simple binocular rivalry task and the Brock string task, for determining congenital (early) vs. late blindness where medical history and records are partial or lacking (e.g., as is often the case in cataract removal cases).
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Affiliation(s)
- Amber Maimon
- The Baruch Ivcher Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Technology, Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel,The Ruth & Meir Rosenthal Brain Imaging Center, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel,*Correspondence: Amber Maimon,
| | - Ophir Netzer
- Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Benedetta Heimler
- Center of Advanced Technologies in Rehabilitation (CATR), Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Amir Amedi
- The Baruch Ivcher Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Technology, Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel,The Ruth & Meir Rosenthal Brain Imaging Center, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
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10
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Bosten JM, Coen-Cagli R, Franklin A, Solomon SG, Webster MA. Calibrating Vision: Concepts and Questions. Vision Res 2022; 201:108131. [PMID: 37139435 PMCID: PMC10151026 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2022.108131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The idea that visual coding and perception are shaped by experience and adjust to changes in the environment or the observer is universally recognized as a cornerstone of visual processing, yet the functions and processes mediating these calibrations remain in many ways poorly understood. In this article we review a number of facets and issues surrounding the general notion of calibration, with a focus on plasticity within the encoding and representational stages of visual processing. These include how many types of calibrations there are - and how we decide; how plasticity for encoding is intertwined with other principles of sensory coding; how it is instantiated at the level of the dynamic networks mediating vision; how it varies with development or between individuals; and the factors that may limit the form or degree of the adjustments. Our goal is to give a small glimpse of an enormous and fundamental dimension of vision, and to point to some of the unresolved questions in our understanding of how and why ongoing calibrations are a pervasive and essential element of vision.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ruben Coen-Cagli
- Department of Systems Computational Biology, and Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, and Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx NY
| | | | - Samuel G Solomon
- Institute of Behavioural Neuroscience, Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, UK
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11
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May E, Arach P, Kishiki E, Geneau R, Maehara G, Sukhai M, Hamm LM. Learning to see after early and extended blindness: A scoping review. Front Psychol 2022; 13:954328. [PMID: 36389599 PMCID: PMC9648338 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.954328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 10/03/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE If an individual has been blind since birth due to a treatable eye condition, ocular treatment is urgent. Even a brief period of visual deprivation can alter the development of the visual system. The goal of our structured scoping review was to understand how we might better support children with delayed access to ocular treatment for blinding conditions. METHOD We searched MEDLINE, Embase and Global Health for peer-reviewed publications that described the impact of early (within the first year) and extended (lasting at least 2 years) bilateral visual deprivation. RESULTS Of 551 reports independently screened by two authors, 42 studies met our inclusion criteria. Synthesizing extracted data revealed several trends. The data suggests persistent deficits in visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, global motion, and visual-motor integration, and suspected concerns for understanding complex objects and faces. There is evidence for resilience in color perception, understanding of simple shapes, discriminating between a face and non-face, and the perception of biological motion. There is currently insufficient data about specific (re)habilitation strategies to update low vision services, but there are several insights to guide future research in this domain. CONCLUSION This summary will help guide the research and services provision to help children learn to see after early and extended blindness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eloise May
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | | | | | - Robert Geneau
- Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology, Moshi, Tanzania
- Division of Ophthalmology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Goro Maehara
- Department of Human Sciences, Kanagawa University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Mahadeo Sukhai
- Accessibility, Research and International Affairs, Canadian National Institute for the Blind, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
| | - Lisa M. Hamm
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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12
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Arbel R, Heimler B, Amedi A. Face shape processing via visual-to-auditory sensory substitution activates regions within the face processing networks in the absence of visual experience. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:921321. [PMID: 36263367 PMCID: PMC9576157 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.921321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous evidence suggests that visual experience is crucial for the emergence and tuning of the typical neural system for face recognition. To challenge this conclusion, we trained congenitally blind adults to recognize faces via visual-to-auditory sensory-substitution (SDD). Our results showed a preference for trained faces over other SSD-conveyed visual categories in the fusiform gyrus and in other known face-responsive-regions of the deprived ventral visual stream. We also observed a parametric modulation in the same cortical regions, for face orientation (upright vs. inverted) and face novelty (trained vs. untrained). Our results strengthen the conclusion that there is a predisposition for sensory-independent and computation-specific processing in specific cortical regions that can be retained in life-long sensory deprivation, independently of previous perceptual experience. They also highlight that if the right training is provided, such cortical preference maintains its tuning to what were considered visual-specific face features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roni Arbel
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Hadassah Ein-Kerem, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Department of Pediatrics, Hadassah University Hospital-Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel
- *Correspondence: Roni Arbel,
| | - Benedetta Heimler
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Hadassah Ein-Kerem, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Ivcher School of Psychology, The Institute for Brain, Mind, and Technology, Reichman University, Herzeliya, Israel
- Center of Advanced Technologies in Rehabilitation, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Amir Amedi
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Hadassah Ein-Kerem, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Ivcher School of Psychology, The Institute for Brain, Mind, and Technology, Reichman University, Herzeliya, Israel
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13
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Caravaca-Rodriguez D, Gaytan SP, Suaning GJ, Barriga-Rivera A. Implications of Neural Plasticity in Retinal Prosthesis. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2022; 63:11. [PMID: 36251317 DOI: 10.1167/iovs.63.11.11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Retinal degenerative diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa cause a progressive loss of photoreceptors that eventually prevents the affected person from perceiving visual sensations. The absence of a visual input produces a neural rewiring cascade that propagates along the visual system. This remodeling occurs first within the retina. Then, subsequent neuroplastic changes take place at higher visual centers in the brain, produced by either the abnormal neural encoding of the visual inputs delivered by the diseased retina or as the result of an adaptation to visual deprivation. While retinal implants can activate the surviving retinal neurons by delivering electric current, the unselective activation patterns of the different neural populations that exist in the retinal layers differ substantially from those in physiologic vision. Therefore, artificially induced neural patterns are being delivered to a brain that has already undergone important neural reconnections. Whether or not the modulation of this neural rewiring can improve the performance for retinal prostheses remains a critical question whose answer may be the enabler of improved functional artificial vision and more personalized neurorehabilitation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Caravaca-Rodriguez
- Department of Applied Physics III, Technical School of Engineering, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Susana P Gaytan
- Department of Physiology, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Gregg J Suaning
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Alejandro Barriga-Rivera
- Department of Applied Physics III, Technical School of Engineering, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain.,School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
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14
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In a case of longstanding low vision regions of visual cortex that respond to tactile stimulation of the finger with Braille characters are not causally involved in the discrimination of those same Braille characters. Cortex 2022; 155:277-286. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.07.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Revised: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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15
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Tian Q, Wang L, Zhang Y, Fan K, Liang M, Shi D, Qin W, Ding H. Brain Gray Matter Atrophy and Functional Connectivity Remodeling in Patients With Chronic LHON. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:885770. [PMID: 35645726 PMCID: PMC9135140 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.885770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the brain gray matter volume (GMV) and spontaneous functional connectivity (FC) changes in patients with chronic Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), and their relations with clinical measures. Methods A total of 32 patients with chronic LHON and matched sighted healthy controls (HC) underwent neuro-ophthalmologic examinations and multimodel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to detect the GMV differences between the LHON and HC. Furthermore, resting-state FC analysis using the VBM-identified clusters as seeds was carried out to detect potential functional reorganization in the LHON. Finally, the associations between the neuroimaging and clinical measures were performed. Results The average peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness of the chronic LHON was significantly thinner (T = −16.421, p < 0.001), and the mean defect of the visual field was significantly higher (T = 11.28, p < 0.001) than the HC. VBM analysis demonstrated a significantly lower GMV of bilateral calcarine gyri (CGs) in the LHON than in the HC (p < 0.05). Moreover, in comparison with the HC, the LHON had significantly lower FC between the centroid of the identified left CG and ipsilateral superior occipital gyrus (SOG) and higher FC between this cluster and the ipsilateral posterior cingulate gyrus (p < 0.05, corrected). Finally, the GMV of the left CG was negatively correlated with the LHON duration (r = −0.535, p = 0.002), and the FC between the left CG and the ipsilateral posterior cingulate gyrus of the LHON was negatively correlated with the average peripapillary RNFL thickness (r = −0.522, p = 0.003). Conclusion The atrophied primary visual cortex of the chronic LHON may be caused by transneuronal degeneration following the retinal damage. Moreover, our findings suggest that the functional organization of the atrophied primary visual cortex has been reshaped in the chronic LHON.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qin Tian
- Department of Medical Imaging, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Ling Wang
- Department of Medical Imaging, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Yu Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Ke Fan
- Henan Eye Institute, Henan Eye Hospital, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou University People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Meng Liang
- Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
- School of Medical Imaging, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Dapeng Shi
- Department of Medical Imaging, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Dapeng Shi
| | - Wen Qin
- Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
- Wen Qin
| | - Hao Ding
- Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
- School of Medical Imaging, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
- Hao Ding
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16
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Gupta P, Shah P, Gutnick SG, Vogelsang M, Vogelsang L, Tiwari K, Gandhi T, Ganesh S, Sinha P. Development of Visual Memory Capacity Following Early-Onset and Extended Blindness. Psychol Sci 2022; 33:847-858. [PMID: 35533319 PMCID: PMC9343893 DOI: 10.1177/09567976211056664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
It is unknown whether visual memory capacity can develop if onset of pattern vision is delayed for several years following birth. We had an opportunity to address this question through our work with an unusual population of 12 congenitally blind individuals ranging in age from 8 to 22 years. After providing them with sight surgery, we longitudinally evaluated their visual memory capacity using an image-memorization task. Our findings revealed poor visual memory capacity soon after surgery but significant improvement in subsequent months. Although there may be limits to this improvement, performance 1 year after surgery was found to be comparable with that of control participants with matched visual acuity. These findings provide evidence for plasticity of visual memory mechanisms into late childhood but do not rule out vulnerability to early deprivation. Our computational simulations suggest that a potential mechanism to account for changes in memory performance may be progressive representational elaboration in image encoding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priti Gupta
- Amarnath and Shashi Khosla School of Information Technology, Indian Institute of Technology
| | - Pragya Shah
- Department of Neurology, Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences
| | - Sharon Gilad Gutnick
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
| | - Marin Vogelsang
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.,School of Computer and Communication Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
| | - Lukas Vogelsang
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.,Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
| | - Kashish Tiwari
- Dr. R. P. Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences
| | - Tapan Gandhi
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology
| | - Suma Ganesh
- Department of Pediatric Ophthalmology, Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital, New Delhi, India
| | - Pawan Sinha
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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17
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Arbel R, Heimler B, Amedi A. Congenitally blind adults can learn to identify face-shapes via auditory sensory substitution and successfully generalize some of the learned features. Sci Rep 2022; 12:4330. [PMID: 35288597 PMCID: PMC8921184 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08187-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Unlike sighted individuals, congenitally blind individuals have little to no experience with face shapes. Instead, they rely on non-shape cues, such as voices, to perform character identification. The extent to which face-shape perception can be learned in adulthood via a different sensory modality (i.e., not vision) remains poorly explored. We used a visual-to-auditory Sensory Substitution Device (SSD) that enables conversion of visual images to the auditory modality while preserving their visual characteristics. Expert SSD users were systematically taught to identify cartoon faces via audition. Following a tailored training program lasting ~ 12 h, congenitally blind participants successfully identified six trained faces with high accuracy. Furthermore, they effectively generalized their identification to the untrained, inverted orientation of the learned faces. Finally, after completing the extensive 12-h training program, participants learned six new faces within 2 additional hours of training, suggesting internalization of face-identification processes. Our results document for the first time that facial features can be processed through audition, even in the absence of visual experience across the lifespan. Overall, these findings have important implications for both non-visual object recognition and visual rehabilitation practices and prompt the study of the neural processes underlying auditory face perception in the absence of vision.
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18
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Dai R, Huang Z, Weng X, He S. Early visual exposure primes future cross-modal specialization of the fusiform face area in tactile face processing in the blind. Neuroimage 2022; 253:119062. [PMID: 35263666 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119062] [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: 08/11/2021] [Revised: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/05/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The fusiform face area (FFA) is a core cortical region for face information processing. Evidence suggests that its sensitivity to faces is largely innate and tuned by visual experience. However, how experience in different time windows shape the plasticity of the FFA remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of visual experience at different time points of an individual's early development in the cross-modal face specialization of the FFA. Participants (n = 74) were classified into five groups: congenital blind, early blind, late blind, low vision, and sighted control. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired when the participants haptically processed carved faces and other objects. Our results showed a robust and highly consistent face-selective activation in the FFA region in the early blind participants, invariant to size and level of abstraction of the face stimuli. The cross-modal face activation in the FFA was much less consistent in other groups. These results suggest that early visual experience primes cross-modal specialization of the FFA, and even after the absence of visual experience for more than 14 years in early blind participants, their FFA can engage in cross-modal processing of face information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Zirui Huang
- Center for Consciousness Science, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Xuchu Weng
- Institute for Brain Research and Rehabilitation, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China.
| | - Sheng He
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai, 20031, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
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19
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Lowndes R, Molz B, Warriner L, Herbik A, de Best PB, Raz N, Gouws A, Ahmadi K, McLean RJ, Gottlob I, Kohl S, Choritz L, Maguire J, Kanowski M, Käsmann-Kellner B, Wieland I, Banin E, Levin N, Hoffmann MB, Morland AB, Baseler HA. Structural Differences Across Multiple Visual Cortical Regions in the Absence of Cone Function in Congenital Achromatopsia. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:718958. [PMID: 34720857 PMCID: PMC8551799 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.718958] [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: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Most individuals with congenital achromatopsia (ACHM) carry mutations that affect the retinal phototransduction pathway of cone photoreceptors, fundamental to both high acuity vision and colour perception. As the central fovea is occupied solely by cones, achromats have an absence of retinal input to the visual cortex and a small central area of blindness. Additionally, those with complete ACHM have no colour perception, and colour processing regions of the ventral cortex also lack typical chromatic signals from the cones. This study examined the cortical morphology (grey matter volume, cortical thickness, and cortical surface area) of multiple visual cortical regions in ACHM (n = 15) compared to normally sighted controls (n = 42) to determine the cortical changes that are associated with the retinal characteristics of ACHM. Surface-based morphometry was applied to T1-weighted MRI in atlas-defined early, ventral and dorsal visual regions of interest. Reduced grey matter volume in V1, V2, V3, and V4 was found in ACHM compared to controls, driven by a reduction in cortical surface area as there was no significant reduction in cortical thickness. Cortical surface area (but not thickness) was reduced in a wide range of areas (V1, V2, V3, TO1, V4, and LO1). Reduction in early visual areas with large foveal representations (V1, V2, and V3) suggests that the lack of foveal input to the visual cortex was a major driving factor in morphological changes in ACHM. However, the significant reduction in ventral area V4 coupled with the lack of difference in dorsal areas V3a and V3b suggest that deprivation of chromatic signals to visual cortex in ACHM may also contribute to changes in cortical morphology. This research shows that the congenital lack of cone input to the visual cortex can lead to widespread structural changes across multiple visual areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Lowndes
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
- York Neuroimaging Centre, Department of Psychology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Barbara Molz
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Lucy Warriner
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Anne Herbik
- Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Pieter B. de Best
- MRI Unit, Department of Neurology, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Noa Raz
- MRI Unit, Department of Neurology, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Andre Gouws
- York Neuroimaging Centre, Department of Psychology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Khazar Ahmadi
- Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Rebecca J. McLean
- University of Leicester Ulverscroft Eye Unit, University of Leicester, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Irene Gottlob
- University of Leicester Ulverscroft Eye Unit, University of Leicester, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Susanne Kohl
- Molecular Genetics Laboratory, Institute for Ophthalmic Research, Centre for Ophthalmology, University Clinics Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Lars Choritz
- Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - John Maguire
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom
| | - Martin Kanowski
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Barbara Käsmann-Kellner
- Department of Ophthalmology, Saarland University Hospital and Medical Faculty of the Saarland University Hospital, Homburg, Germany
| | - Ilse Wieland
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Institute for Human Genetics, University Hospital, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Eyal Banin
- Degenerative Diseases of the Retina Unit, Department of Ophthalmology, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Netta Levin
- MRI Unit, Department of Neurology, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Michael B. Hoffmann
- Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
- Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Antony B. Morland
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
- York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Heidi A. Baseler
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
- York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, York, United Kingdom
- Hull York Medical School, University of York, York, United Kingdom
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20
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Abstract
This article reviews theoretical and empirical arguments for and against various theories that explain the classic Ponzo illusion and its variants from two different viewpoints concerning the role of perceived depth in size distortions. The first viewpoint argues that all Ponzo-like illusions are driven by perceived depth. The second viewpoint argues that the classic Ponzo illusion is unrelated to depth perception. This review will give special focus to the first viewpoint and consists of three sections. In the first section, the role of the number of pictorial depth cues and previous experience in the strength of all Ponzo-like illusions are discussed. In the second section, we contrast the first viewpoint against the theories that explain the classic Ponzo illusion with mechanisms that are unrelated to depth perception. In the last section, we propose a Bayesian-motivated reconceptualization of Richard Gregory's misapplied size constancy theory that explains Ponzo-variant illusions in terms of prior information and prediction errors. The new account explains why some studies have provided inconsistent evidence for misapplied size constancy theory.
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21
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Vannuscorps G, Galaburda A, Caramazza A. Shape-centered representations of bounded regions of space mediate the perception of objects. Cogn Neuropsychol 2021; 39:1-50. [PMID: 34427539 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2021.1960495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
We report the study of a woman who perceives 2D bounded regions of space ("shapes") defined by sharp edges of medium to high contrast as if they were rotated by 90, 180 degrees around their centre, mirrored across their own axes, or both. In contrast, her perception of 3D, strongly blurred or very low contrast shapes, and of stimuli emerging from a collection of shapes, is intact. This suggests that a stage in the process of constructing the conscious visual representation of a scene consists of representing mutually exclusive bounded regions extracted from the initial retinotopic space in "shape-centered" frames of reference. The selectivity of the disorder to shapes originally biased toward the parvocellular subcortical pathway, and the absence of any other type of error, additionally invite new hypotheses about the operations involved in computing these "intermediate shape-centered representations" and in mapping them onto higher frames for perception and action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilles Vannuscorps
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Institute of Psychological Sciences, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.,Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.,Louvain Bionics, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Albert Galaburda
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alfonso Caramazza
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), Università degli Studi di Trento, Rovereto, Italy
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22
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Parker KN, Donovan MH, Smith K, Noble-Haeusslein LJ. Traumatic Injury to the Developing Brain: Emerging Relationship to Early Life Stress. Front Neurol 2021; 12:708800. [PMID: 34484104 PMCID: PMC8416304 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2021.708800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the high incidence of brain injuries in children, we have yet to fully understand the unique vulnerability of a young brain to an injury and key determinants of long-term recovery. Here we consider how early life stress may influence recovery after an early age brain injury. Studies of early life stress alone reveal persistent structural and functional impairments at adulthood. We consider the interacting pathologies imposed by early life stress and subsequent brain injuries during early brain development as well as at adulthood. This review outlines how early life stress primes the immune cells of the brain and periphery to elicit a heightened response to injury. While the focus of this review is on early age traumatic brain injuries, there is also a consideration of preclinical models of neonatal hypoxia and stroke, as each further speaks to the vulnerability of the brain and reinforces those characteristics that are common across each of these injuries. Lastly, we identify a common mechanistic trend; namely, early life stress worsens outcomes independent of its temporal proximity to a brain injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaila N. Parker
- Department of Neurology, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
- Department of Psychology, Behavioral Neuroscience, College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
| | - Michael H. Donovan
- Department of Neurology, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
- Department of Psychology, Behavioral Neuroscience, College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
| | - Kylee Smith
- Department of Neurology, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
- Department of Psychology, Behavioral Neuroscience, College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
| | - Linda J. Noble-Haeusslein
- Department of Neurology, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
- Department of Psychology, Behavioral Neuroscience, College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
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23
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Cortical Visual Mapping following Ocular Gene Augmentation Therapy for Achromatopsia. J Neurosci 2021; 41:7363-7371. [PMID: 34349002 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3222-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Revised: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability of the adult human brain to develop function following correction of congenital deafferentation is controversial. Specifically, cases of recovery from congenital visual deficits are rare. CNGA3-achromatopsia is a congenital hereditary disease caused by cone-photoreceptor dysfunction, leading to impaired acuity, photoaversion, and complete color blindness. Essentially, these patients have rod-driven vision only, seeing the world in blurry shades of gray. We use the uniqueness of this rare disease, in which the cone-photoreceptors and afferent fibers are preserved but do not function, as a model to study cortical visual plasticity. We had the opportunity to study two CNGA3-achromatopsia adults (one female) before and after ocular gene augmentation therapy. Alongside behavioral visual tests, we used novel fMRI-based measurements to assess participants' early visual population receptive-field sizes and color regions. Behaviorally, minor improvements were observed, including reduction in photoaversion, marginal improvement in acuity, and a new ability to detect red color. No improvement was observed in color arrangement tests. Cortically, pretreatment, patients' population-receptive field sizes of early visual areas were untypically large, but were decreased following treatment specifically in the treated eye. We suggest that this demonstrates cortical ability to encode new input, even at adulthood. On the other hand, no activation of color-specific cortical regions was demonstrated in these patients either before or up to 1 year post-treatment. The source of this deficiency might be attributed either to insufficient recovery of cone function at the retinal level or to challenges that the adult cortex faces when computing new cone-derived input to achieve color perception.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The possibility that the adult human brain may regain or develop function following correction of congenital deafferentation has fired the imagination of scientists over the years. In the visual domain, cases of recovery from congenital deficits are rare. Gene therapy visual restoration for congenital CNGA3-achromatopsia, a disease caused by cone photoreceptor dysfunction, gave us the opportunity to examine cortical function, to the best of our knowledge for the first time, both before and after restorative treatment. While behaviorally only minor improvements were observed post-treatment, fMRI analysis, including size algorithms of population-receptive fields, revealed cortical changes, specifically receptive field size decrease in the treated eyes. This suggests that, at least to some degree, the adult cortex is able to encode new input.
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24
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Orlov T, Raveh M, McKyton A, Ben-Zion I, Zohary E. Learning to perceive shape from temporal integration following late emergence from blindness. Curr Biol 2021; 31:3162-3167.e5. [PMID: 34043950 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.04.059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2020] [Revised: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Visual perception requires massive use of inference because the 3D structure of the world is not directly provided by the sensory input.1 Particularly challenging is anorthoscopic vision-when an object moves behind a narrow slit such that only a tiny fraction of it is visible at any instant. Impressively, human observers correctly recognize objects in slit-viewing conditions by early childhood,2,3 via temporal integration of the contours available in each sliver.4,5 But can this capability be acquired if one has been effectively blind throughout childhood? We studied 23 Ethiopian children which had bilateral early-onset cataracts-resulting in extremely poor vision in infancy-and surgically treated only years later. We tested their anorthoscopic vision, precisely because it requires a cascade of demanding visual inference processes to perceive veridical shape. Failure to perform the task may allow mapping specific bottlenecks for late visual recovery. The patients' visual acuity typically improved substantially within 6 months post-surgery. Still, at this stage many were unable to recover shape under slit-viewing conditions, although they could infer the direction of global motion. However, when retested later, almost all patients could judge shape in slit-conditions necessitating temporal integration. This acquired capability often transferred to novel stimuli, in similar slit-viewing conditions. Thus, learning was not limited to the specific visual features of the original shapes. These results indicate that plasticity of sophisticated visual inference routines is preserved well into adolescence, and vision restoration after prolonged early-onset blindness is feasible to a greater extent than previously thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanya Orlov
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel; Department of Neurobiology, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - Maayan Raveh
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel; Department of Neurobiology, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - Ayelet McKyton
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel; Department of Neurobiology, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - Itay Ben-Zion
- Department of Ophthalmology, Padeh Medical Center, Poriya, Israel
| | - Ehud Zohary
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel; Department of Neurobiology, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
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25
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Abbasi B, Rizzo JF. Advances in Neuroscience, Not Devices, Will Determine the Effectiveness of Visual Prostheses. Semin Ophthalmol 2021; 36:168-175. [PMID: 33734937 DOI: 10.1080/08820538.2021.1887902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Background: Innovations in engineering and neuroscience have enabled the development of sophisticated visual prosthetic devices. In clinical trials, these devices have provided visual acuities as high as 20/460, enabled coarse navigation, and even allowed for reading of short words. However, long-term commercial viability arguably rests on attaining even better vision and more definitive improvements in tasks of daily living and quality of life. Purpose: Here we review technological and biological obstacles in the implementation of visual prosthetics. Conclusions: Research in the visual prosthetic field has tackled significant technical challenges, including biocompatibility, signal spread through neural tissue, and inadvertent activation of passing axons; however, significant gaps in knowledge remain in the realm of neuroscience, including the neural code of vision and visual plasticity. We assert that further optimization of prosthetic devices alone will not provide markedly improved visual outcomes without significant advances in our understanding of neuroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bardia Abbasi
- Neuro-Ophthalmology Service, Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Joseph F Rizzo
- Neuro-Ophthalmology Service, Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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26
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Opoku-Baah C, Wallace MT. Brief period of monocular deprivation drives changes in audiovisual temporal perception. J Vis 2020; 20:8. [PMID: 32761108 PMCID: PMC7438662 DOI: 10.1167/jov.20.8.8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The human brain retains a striking degree of plasticity into adulthood. Recent studies have demonstrated that a short period of altered visual experience (via monocular deprivation) can change the dynamics of binocular rivalry in favor of the deprived eye, a compensatory action thought to be mediated by an upregulation of cortical gain control mechanisms. Here, we sought to better understand the impact of monocular deprivation on multisensory abilities, specifically examining audiovisual temporal perception. Using an audiovisual simultaneity judgment task, we discovered that 90 minutes of monocular deprivation produced opposing effects on the temporal binding window depending on the eye used in the task. Thus, in those who performed the task with their deprived eye there was a narrowing of the temporal binding window, whereas in those performing the task with their nondeprived eye there was a widening of the temporal binding window. The effect was short lived, being observed only in the first 10 minutes of postdeprivation testing. These findings indicate that changes in visual experience in the adult can rapidly impact multisensory perceptual processes, a finding that has important clinical implications for those patients with adult-onset visual deprivation and for therapies founded on monocular deprivation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mark T Wallace
- ,.,,.,,.,,.,,.,,
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27
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Liu X, Zhen Z, Liu J. Hierarchical Sparse Coding of Objects in Deep Convolutional Neural Networks. Front Comput Neurosci 2020; 14:578158. [PMID: 33362499 PMCID: PMC7755594 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2020.578158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) have attained human-level performances on challenging object recognition tasks owing to their complex internal representation. However, it remains unclear how objects are represented in DCNNs with an overwhelming number of features and non-linear operations. In parallel, the same question has been extensively studied in primates' brain, and three types of coding schemes have been found: one object is coded by the entire neuronal population (distributed coding), or by one single neuron (local coding), or by a subset of neuronal population (sparse coding). Here we asked whether DCNNs adopted any of these coding schemes to represent objects. Specifically, we used the population sparseness index, which is widely-used in neurophysiological studies on primates' brain, to characterize the degree of sparseness at each layer in representative DCNNs pretrained for object categorization. We found that the sparse coding scheme was adopted at all layers of the DCNNs, and the degree of sparseness increased along the hierarchy. That is, the coding scheme shifted from distributed-like coding at lower layers to local-like coding at higher layers. Further, the degree of sparseness was positively correlated with DCNNs' performance in object categorization, suggesting that the coding scheme was related to behavioral performance. Finally, with the lesion approach, we demonstrated that both external learning experiences and built-in gating operations were necessary to construct such a hierarchical coding scheme. In sum, our study provides direct evidence that DCNNs adopted a hierarchically-evolved sparse coding scheme as the biological brain does, suggesting the possibility of an implementation-independent principle underling object recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingyu Liu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zonglei Zhen
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jia Liu
- Department of Psychology & Tsinghua Laboratory of Brain and Intelligence, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
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Brief localised monocular deprivation in adults alters binocular rivalry predominance retinotopically and reduces spatial inhibition. Sci Rep 2020; 10:18739. [PMID: 33127963 PMCID: PMC7603489 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-75252-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Short-term deprivation (2.5 h) of an eye has been shown to boost its relative ocular dominance in young adults. Here, we show that a much shorter deprivation period (3–6 min) produces a similar paradoxical boost that is retinotopic and reduces spatial inhibition on neighbouring, non-deprived areas. Partial deprivation was conducted in the left hemifield, central vision or in an annular region, later assessed with a binocular rivalry tracking procedure. Post-deprivation, dominance of the deprived eye increased when rivalling images were within the deprived retinotopic region, but not within neighbouring, non-deprived areas where dominance was dependent on the correspondence between the orientation content of the stimuli presented in the deprived and that of the stimuli presented in non-deprived areas. Together, these results accord with other deprivation studies showing V1 activity changes and reduced GABAergic inhibition.
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29
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Suomala J. The Consumer Contextual Decision-Making Model. Front Psychol 2020; 11:570430. [PMID: 33117237 PMCID: PMC7559398 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.570430] [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: 06/07/2020] [Accepted: 09/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Consumers can have difficulty expressing their buying intentions on an explicit level. The most common explanation for this intention-action gap is that consumers have many cognitive biases that interfere with rational decision-making. The current resource-rational approach to understanding human cognition, however, suggests that brain environment interactions lead consumers to minimize the expenditure of cognitive energy according to the principle of Occam’s Razor. This means that the consumer seeks as simple of a solution as possible for a problem requiring decision-making. In addition, this resource-rational approach to decision-making emphasizes the role of inductive inference and Bayesian reasoning. Together, the principle of Occam’s Razor, inductive inference, and Bayesian reasoning illuminate the dynamic human-environment relationship. This paper analyzes these concepts from a contextual perspective and introduces the Consumer Contextual Decision-Making Model (CCDMM). Based on the CCDMM, two hypothetical strategies of consumer decision-making will be presented. First, the SIMilarity-Strategy (SIMS) is one in which most of a consumer’s decisions in a real-life context are based on prior beliefs about the role of a commodities specific to real-life situation being encountered. Because beliefs are based on previous experiences, consumers are already aware of the most likely consequences of their actions. At the same time, they do not waste time on developing contingencies for what, based on previous experience, is unlikely to happen. Second, the What-is-Out-there-in-the-World-Strategy (WOWS) is one in which prior beliefs do not work in a real-life situation, requiring consumers to update their beliefs. The principle argument being made is that most experimental consumer research describes decision-making based on the WOWS, when participants cannot apply their previous knowledge and situation-based strategy to problems. The article analyzes sensory and cognitive biases described by behavioral economists from a CCDMM perspective, followed by a description and explanation of the typical intention-action gap based on the model. Prior to a section dedicated to discussion, the neuroeconomic approach will be described along with the valuation network of the brain, which has evolved to solve problems that the human has previously encountered in an information-rich environment. The principles of brain function will also be compared to CCDMM. Finally, different approaches and the future direction of consumer research from a contextual point of view will be presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jyrki Suomala
- NeuroLab, Laurea Leppävaara, Laurea University of Applied Sciences, Espoo, Finland
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30
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Heimler B, Amedi A. Are critical periods reversible in the adult brain? Insights on cortical specializations based on sensory deprivation studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 116:494-507. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.06.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Revised: 06/07/2020] [Accepted: 06/25/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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31
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Mechanisms underlying simultaneous brightness contrast: Early and innate. Vision Res 2020; 173:41-49. [PMID: 32464426 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2020.04.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2019] [Revised: 04/25/2020] [Accepted: 04/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
In the phenomenon of simultaneous brightness contrast, two patches, one on a dark background and the other on a light one, appear to have different brightness despite being physically equi-luminant. Elucidating the phenomenon's underlying mechanisms is relevant for the larger question of how the visual system makes photometric judgments in images. Accounts over the past century have spanned low-, mid- and high-level visual processes, but a definitive resolution has not emerged. We present three studies that collectively demonstrate that the computations underlying this phenomenon are low-level, instantiated prior to binocular fusion, and available innately, without need for inferential learning via an individual's visual experience. In our first two studies, we find that strong brightness induction is obtained even when observers are unaware of any luminance differences in the neighborhoods of the probe patches. Results with dichoptic displays reveal that eye of origin, although not evident consciously, has a marked influence on the eventual brightness percept of the probe patches, thereby localizing brightness estimation to a site preceding binocular fusion. The third study uses conventional simultaneous brightness contrast displays, but an unusual group of participants: Congenitally blind children whom we were able to treat surgically. The results demonstrate an immediate susceptibility to the simultaneous brightness illusion after sight onset. Together, these data strongly constrain the search for mechanisms underlying a fundamental brightness phenomenon.
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Castaldi E, Lunghi C, Morrone MC. Neuroplasticity in adult human visual cortex. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 112:542-552. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.02.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2019] [Revised: 12/30/2019] [Accepted: 02/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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Cisneros-Franco JM, Voss P, Thomas ME, de Villers-Sidani E. Critical periods of brain development. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2020; 173:75-88. [PMID: 32958196 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-64150-2.00009-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Brain plasticity is maximal at specific time windows during early development known as critical periods (CPs), during which sensory experience is necessary to establish optimal cortical representations of the surrounding environment. After CP closure, a range of functional and structural elements prevent passive experience from eliciting significant plastic changes in the brain. The transition from a plastic to a more fixed state is advantageous as it allows for the sequential consolidation and retention of new and more complex perceptual, motor, and cognitive functions. However, the formation of stable neural representations may pose limitations on future revisions to the circuitry. If sensory experience is abnormal or absent during this time, it can have profound effects on sensory representations in adulthood, resulting in quasi-permanent adaptations that can make it nearly impossible to learn certain skills or process certain stimulus properties later on in life. This chapter begins with a brief introduction to experience-dependent plasticity throughout the lifespan (Section Introduction). Next, we define what constitutes a CP (Section What Are Critical Periods?) and review some of the key CPs in the visual and auditory systems (Section Key Critical Periods of Sensory Systems). We then discuss the mechanisms whereby cortical plasticity is regulated both locally and through neuromodulatory systems (Section How Are Critical Periods Regulated?). Finally, we highlight studies showing that CPs can be extended beyond their normal epochs, closed prematurely, or reopened during adult life by merely altering sensory inputs (Section Timing of Critical Periods: Can CP Plasticity Be Extended, Limited, or Reactivated?).
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Affiliation(s)
- J Miguel Cisneros-Franco
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Patrice Voss
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Maryse E Thomas
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Etienne de Villers-Sidani
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
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34
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Responses in area hMT+ reflect tuning for both auditory frequency and motion after blindness early in life. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:10081-10086. [PMID: 31036666 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1815376116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies report that human middle temporal complex (hMT+) is sensitive to auditory motion in early-blind individuals. Here, we show that hMT+ also develops selectivity for auditory frequency after early blindness, and that this selectivity is maintained after sight recovery in adulthood. Frequency selectivity was assessed using both moving band-pass and stationary pure-tone stimuli. As expected, within primary auditory cortex, both moving and stationary stimuli successfully elicited frequency-selective responses, organized in a tonotopic map, for all subjects. In early-blind and sight-recovery subjects, we saw evidence for frequency selectivity within hMT+ for the auditory stimulus that contained motion. We did not find frequency-tuned responses within hMT+ when using the stationary stimulus in either early-blind or sight-recovery subjects. We saw no evidence for auditory frequency selectivity in hMT+ in sighted subjects using either stimulus. Thus, after early blindness, hMT+ can exhibit selectivity for auditory frequency. Remarkably, this auditory frequency tuning persists in two adult sight-recovery subjects, showing that, in these subjects, auditory frequency-tuned responses can coexist with visually driven responses in hMT+.
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35
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Oruc I, Shafai F, Murthy S, Lages P, Ton T. The adult face-diet: A naturalistic observation study. Vision Res 2019; 157:222-229. [DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2018.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2017] [Revised: 01/03/2018] [Accepted: 01/12/2018] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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36
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Dooley JC, Krubitzer LA. Alterations in cortical and thalamic connections of somatosensory cortex following early loss of vision. J Comp Neurol 2018; 527:1675-1688. [PMID: 30444542 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2018] [Revised: 09/26/2018] [Accepted: 11/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Early loss of vision produces dramatic changes in the functional organization and connectivity of the neocortex in cortical areas that normally process visual inputs, such as the primary and second visual area. This loss also results in alterations in the size, functional organization, and neural response properties of the primary somatosensory area, S1. However, the anatomical substrate for these functional changes in S1 has never been described. In the present investigation, we quantified the cortical and subcortical connections of S1 in animals that were bilaterally enucleated very early in development, prior to the formation of retino-geniculate and thalamocortical pathways. We found that S1 receives dense inputs from novel cortical fields, and that the density of existing cortical and thalamocortical connections was altered. Our results demonstrate that sensory systems develop in tandem and that alterations in sensory input in one system can affect the connections and organization of other sensory systems. Thus, therapeutic intervention following early loss of vision should focus not only on restoring vision, but also on augmenting the natural plasticity of the spared systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- James C Dooley
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Leah A Krubitzer
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, California.,Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, California
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37
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Oruc I, Shafai F, Iarocci G. Link Between Facial Identity and Expression Abilities Suggestive of Origins of Face Impairments in Autism: Support for the Social-Motivation Hypothesis. Psychol Sci 2018; 29:1859-1867. [PMID: 30285548 DOI: 10.1177/0956797618795471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulties with processing identity and expression in faces. This is at odds with influential models of face processing that propose separate neural pathways for the identity and expression domains. The social-motivation hypothesis of ASD posits a lack of visual experience with faces as the root cause of face impairments in autism. A direct prediction is that identity and expression abilities should be related in ASD, reflecting the common origin of face impairment in this population. We tested adults with and without ASD ( ns = 34) in identity and expression tasks. Our results showed that performance in the two domains was significantly correlated in the ASD group but not in the comparison group. These results suggest that the most likely origin for face impairments in ASD stems from the input stage impacting development of identity and expression domains alike, consistent with the social-motivation hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ipek Oruc
- 1 Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia.,2 Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia
| | - Fakhri Shafai
- 1 Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia.,2 Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia
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38
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Pasqualotto A, Furlan M, Proulx MJ, Sereno MI. Visual loss alters multisensory face maps in humans. Brain Struct Funct 2018; 223:3731-3738. [PMID: 30043118 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-018-1713-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2015] [Accepted: 07/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Topographically organised responses to visual and tactile stimulation are aligned in the ventral intraparietal cortex. The critical biological importance of this region, which is thought to mediate visually guided defensive movements of the head and upper body, suggests that these maps might be hardwired from birth. Here, we investigated whether visual experience is necessary for the creation and positioning of these maps by assessing the representation of tactile stimulation in congenitally and totally blind participants, who had no visual experience, and late and totally blind participants. We used a single-subject approach to the analysis to focus on the potential individual differences in the functional neuroanatomy that might arise from different causes, durations and sensory experiences of visual impairment among participants. The overall results did not show any significant difference between congenitally and late blind participants; however, single-subject trends suggested that visual experience is not necessary to develop topographically organised maps in the intraparietal cortex, whilst losing vision disrupted topographic maps' integrity and organisation. These results discussed in terms of brain plasticity and sensitive periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Achille Pasqualotto
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK. .,Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK. .,Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Sabanci University, 34956, Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey.
| | - Michele Furlan
- SISSA (Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati), Trieste, Italy
| | - Michael J Proulx
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.,Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
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Abstract
Much remains to be understood about visual system malfunction following injury. The resulting deficits range from dense, visual field scotomas to mild dysfunction of visual perception. Despite the predictive value of anatomical localization studies, much patient-to-patient variability remains regarding (a) perceptual abilities following injury and (b) the capacity of individual patients for visual rehabilitation. Visual field perimetry is used to characterize the visual field deficits that result from visual system injury. However, standard perimetry mapping does not always precisely correspond to underlying anatomical or functional deficits. Functional magnetic resonance imaging can be used to probe the function of surviving visual circuits, allowing us to classify better how the pattern of injury relates to residual visual perception. Identifying pathways that are potentially modifiable by training may guide the development of improved strategies for visual rehabilitation. This review discusses primary visual cortex lesions, which cause dense contralateral scotomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stelios M Smirnakis
- Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115.,Department of Neurology, Jamaica Plain Campus, Veterans Administration Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts 02130.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115;
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40
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Andres E, McKyton A, Ben-Zion I, Zohary E. Size constancy following long-term visual deprivation. Curr Biol 2017; 27:R696-R697. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.05.071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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41
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Beyeler M, Rokem A, Boynton GM, Fine I. Learning to see again: biological constraints on cortical plasticity and the implications for sight restoration technologies. J Neural Eng 2017; 14:051003. [PMID: 28612755 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/aa795e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The 'bionic eye'-so long a dream of the future-is finally becoming a reality with retinal prostheses available to patients in both the US and Europe. However, clinical experience with these implants has made it apparent that the visual information provided by these devices differs substantially from normal sight. Consequently, the ability of patients to learn to make use of this abnormal retinal input plays a critical role in whether or not some functional vision is successfully regained. The goal of the present review is to summarize the vast basic science literature on developmental and adult cortical plasticity with an emphasis on how this literature might relate to the field of prosthetic vision. We begin with describing the distortion and information loss likely to be experienced by visual prosthesis users. We then define cortical plasticity and perceptual learning, and describe what is known, and what is unknown, about visual plasticity across the hierarchy of brain regions involved in visual processing, and across different stages of life. We close by discussing what is known about brain plasticity in sight restoration patients and discuss biological mechanisms that might eventually be harnessed to improve visual learning in these patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Beyeler
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States of America. Institute for Neuroengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States of America. eScience Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States of America
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42
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Emergence of categorical face perception after extended early-onset blindness. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:6139-6143. [PMID: 28533387 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1616050114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
It is unknown whether the ability to visually distinguish between faces and nonfaces is subject to a critical period during development. Would a congenitally blind child who gains sight several years after birth be able to acquire this skill? This question has remained unanswered because of the rarity of cases of late sight onset. We had the opportunity to work with five early-blind individuals who gained sight late in childhood after treatment for dense bilateral cataracts. We tested their ability to categorize patterns as faces, using natural images that spanned a spectrum of face semblance. The results show that newly sighted individuals are unable to distinguish between faces and nonfaces immediately after sight onset, but improve markedly in the following months. These results demonstrate preserved plasticity for acquiring face/nonface categorization ability even late in life, and set the stage for investigating the informational and neural basis of this skill acquisition.
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43
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Lupyan G. Changing What You See by Changing What You Know: The Role of Attention. Front Psychol 2017; 8:553. [PMID: 28507524 PMCID: PMC5410707 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2016] [Accepted: 03/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Attending is a cognitive process that incorporates a person's knowledge, goals, and expectations. What we perceive when we attend to one thing is different from what we perceive when we attend to something else. Yet, it is often argued that attentional effects do not count as evidence that perception is influenced by cognition. I investigate two arguments often given to justify excluding attention. The first is arguing that attention is a post-perceptual process reflecting selection between fully constructed perceptual representations. The second is arguing that attention as a pre-perceptual process that simply changes the input to encapsulated perceptual systems. Both of these arguments are highly problematic. Although some attentional effects can indeed be construed as post-perceptual, others operate by changing perceptual content across the entire visual hierarchy. Although there is a natural analogy between spatial attention and a change of input, the analogy falls apart when we consider other forms of attention. After dispelling these arguments, I make a case for thinking of attention not as a confound, but as one of the mechanisms by which cognitive states affect perception by going through cases in which the same or similar visual inputs are perceived differently depending on the observer's cognitive state, and instances where cuing an observer using language affects what one sees. Lastly, I provide two compelling counter-examples to the critique that although cognitive influences on perception can be demonstrated in the laboratory, it is impossible to really experience them for oneself in a phenomenologically compelling way. Taken together, the current evidence strongly supports the thesis that what we know routinely influences what we see, that the same sensory input can be perceived differently depending on the current cognitive state of the viewer, and that phenomenologically salient demonstrations are possible if certain conditions are met.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gary Lupyan
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, MadisonWI, USA
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44
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Aguirre GK, Butt OH, Datta R, Roman AJ, Sumaroka A, Schwartz SB, Cideciyan AV, Jacobson SG. Postretinal Structure and Function in Severe Congenital Photoreceptor Blindness Caused by Mutations in the GUCY2D Gene. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2017; 58:959-973. [PMID: 28403437 PMCID: PMC5308769 DOI: 10.1167/iovs.16-20413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose To examine how severe congenital blindness resulting from mutations of the GUCY2D gene alters brain structure and function, and to relate these findings to the notable preservation of retinal architecture in this form of Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA). Methods Six GUCY2D-LCA patients (ages 20–46) were studied with optical coherence tomography of the retina and multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain. Measurements from this group were compared to those obtained from populations of normally sighted controls and people with congenital blindness of a variety of causes. Results Patients with GUCY2D-LCA had preservation of the photoreceptors, ganglion cells, and nerve fiber layer. Despite this, visual function in these patients ranged from 20/160 acuity to no light perception, and functional MRI responses to light stimulation were attenuated and restricted. This severe visual impairment was reflected in substantial thickening of the gray matter layer of area V1, accompanied by an alteration of resting-state correlations within the occipital lobe, similar to a comparison group of congenitally blind people with structural damage to the retina. In contrast to the comparison blind population, however, the GUCY2D-LCA group had preservation of the size of the optic chiasm, and the fractional anisotropy of the optic radiations as measured with diffusion tensor imaging was also normal. Conclusions These results identify dissociable effects of blindness upon the visual pathway. Further, the relatively intact postgeniculate white matter pathway in GUCY2D-LCA is encouraging for the prospect of recovery of visual function with gene augmentation therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geoffrey K Aguirre
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Omar H Butt
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Ritobrato Datta
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Alejandro J Roman
- Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Alexander Sumaroka
- Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Sharon B Schwartz
- Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Artur V Cideciyan
- Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Samuel G Jacobson
- Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
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45
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Barton B, Brewer AA. Visual Field Map Clusters in High-Order Visual Processing: Organization of V3A/V3B and a New Cloverleaf Cluster in the Posterior Superior Temporal Sulcus. Front Integr Neurosci 2017; 11:4. [PMID: 28293182 PMCID: PMC5329644 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2017.00004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2016] [Accepted: 02/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The cortical hierarchy of the human visual system has been shown to be organized around retinal spatial coordinates throughout much of low- and mid-level visual processing. These regions contain visual field maps (VFMs) that each follows the organization of the retina, with neighboring aspects of the visual field processed in neighboring cortical locations. On a larger, macrostructural scale, groups of such sensory cortical field maps (CFMs) in both the visual and auditory systems are organized into roughly circular cloverleaf clusters. CFMs within clusters tend to share properties such as receptive field distribution, cortical magnification, and processing specialization. Here we use fMRI and population receptive field (pRF) modeling to investigate the extent of VFM and cluster organization with an examination of higher-level visual processing in temporal cortex and compare these measurements to mid-level visual processing in dorsal occipital cortex. In human temporal cortex, the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) has been implicated in various neuroimaging studies as subserving higher-order vision, including face processing, biological motion perception, and multimodal audiovisual integration. In human dorsal occipital cortex, the transverse occipital sulcus (TOS) contains the V3A/B cluster, which comprises two VFMs subserving mid-level motion perception and visuospatial attention. For the first time, we present the organization of VFMs in pSTS in a cloverleaf cluster. This pSTS cluster contains four VFMs bilaterally: pSTS-1:4. We characterize these pSTS VFMs as relatively small at ∼125 mm2 with relatively large pRF sizes of ∼2-8° of visual angle across the central 10° of the visual field. V3A and V3B are ∼230 mm2 in surface area, with pRF sizes here similarly ∼1-8° of visual angle across the same region. In addition, cortical magnification measurements show that a larger extent of the pSTS VFM surface areas are devoted to the peripheral visual field than those in the V3A/B cluster. Reliability measurements of VFMs in pSTS and V3A/B reveal that these cloverleaf clusters are remarkably consistent and functionally differentiable. Our findings add to the growing number of measurements of widespread sensory CFMs organized into cloverleaf clusters, indicating that CFMs and cloverleaf clusters may both be fundamental organizing principles in cortical sensory processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Barton
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine CA, USA
| | - Alyssa A Brewer
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine, IrvineCA, USA; Department of Linguistics, University of California, Irvine, IrvineCA, USA; Center for Hearing Research, University of California, Irvine, IrvineCA, USA
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Castaldi E, Cicchini GM, Cinelli L, Biagi L, Rizzo S, Morrone MC. Visual BOLD Response in Late Blind Subjects with Argus II Retinal Prosthesis. PLoS Biol 2016; 14:e1002569. [PMID: 27780207 PMCID: PMC5079588 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2016] [Accepted: 09/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Retinal prosthesis technologies require that the visual system downstream of the retinal circuitry be capable of transmitting and elaborating visual signals. We studied the capability of plastic remodeling in late blind subjects implanted with the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis with psychophysics and functional MRI (fMRI). After surgery, six out of seven retinitis pigmentosa (RP) blind subjects were able to detect high-contrast stimuli using the prosthetic implant. However, direction discrimination to contrast modulated stimuli remained at chance level in all of them. No subject showed any improvement of contrast sensitivity in either eye when not using the Argus II. Before the implant, the Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) activity in V1 and the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) was very weak or absent. Surprisingly, after prolonged use of Argus II, BOLD responses to visual input were enhanced. This is, to our knowledge, the first study tracking the neural changes of visual areas in patients after retinal implant, revealing a capacity to respond to restored visual input even after years of deprivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- E. Castaldi
- Department of Translational Research on New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | | | - L. Cinelli
- Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi, SOD Oculistica, Florence, Italy
| | - L. Biagi
- Stella Maris Scientific Institute, Pisa, Italy
| | - S. Rizzo
- Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi, SOD Oculistica, Florence, Italy
| | - M. C. Morrone
- Department of Translational Research on New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- Stella Maris Scientific Institute, Pisa, Italy
- * E-mail:
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Richez A, Olivier G, Coello Y. Stimulus-Response Compatibility Effect in the Near-Far Dimension: A Developmental Study. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1169. [PMID: 27547194 PMCID: PMC4974270 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2016] [Accepted: 07/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study investigates the developmental aspect of stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) effect in 8-11-years-old children. The task consisted in manually responding to the color of a pawn presented on a chessboard at different distances. Manual responses were provided by reaching a proximal or distal location depending on the color of the stimulus. We found that reaction time was affected by the conflict generated by the response suggested by the location of the stimulus and the response required according to its color. This was not the case for movement time despite we found a higher rate of long duration movements in the incongruent than in the congruent spatial condition. The SRC effect was, however, observed in children older than 10 years old. These findings provide additional evidence for a reorganization of the perceptual system during the period of 8-10 years, integrating progressively multimodal information and preparing more efficiently the body to act in the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurélien Richez
- CNRS, UMR 9193 – SCALab – Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, Université de LilleLille, France
| | - Gerard Olivier
- Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Récits Cultures Et Sociétés, University of Nice Sophia AntipolisNice, France
| | - Yann Coello
- CNRS, UMR 9193 – SCALab – Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, Université de LilleLille, France
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Abstract
Low vision is any type of visual impairment that affects activities of daily living. In the context of low vision, we define plasticity as changes in brain or perceptual behavior that follow the onset of visual impairment and that are not directly due to the underlying pathology. An important goal of low-vision research is to determine how plasticity affects visual performance of everyday activities. In this review, we consider the levels of the visual system at which plasticity occurs, the impact of age and visual experience on plasticity, and whether plastic changes are spontaneous or require explicit training. We also discuss how plasticity may affect low-vision rehabilitation. Developments in retinal imaging, noninvasive brain imaging, and eye tracking have supplemented traditional clinical and psychophysical methods for assessing how the visual system adapts to visual impairment. Findings from contemporary research are providing tools to guide people with low vision in adopting appropriate rehabilitation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gordon E Legge
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455;
| | - Susana T L Chung
- School of Optometry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720;
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Gilaie-Dotan S. Visual motion serves but is not under the purview of the dorsal pathway. Neuropsychologia 2016; 89:378-392. [PMID: 27444880 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.07.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2016] [Revised: 06/14/2016] [Accepted: 07/17/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Visual motion processing is often attributed to the dorsal visual pathway despite visual motion's involvement in almost all visual functions. Furthermore, some visual motion tasks critically depend on the structural integrity of regions outside the dorsal pathway. Here, based on numerous studies, I propose that visual motion signals are swiftly transmitted via multiple non-hierarchical routes to primary motion-dedicated processing regions (MT/V5 and MST) that are not part of the dorsal pathway, and then propagated to a multiplicity of brain areas according to task demands, reaching these regions earlier than the dorsal/ventral hierarchical flow. This not only places MT/V5 at the same or even earlier visual processing stage as that of V1, but can also elucidate many findings with implications to visual awareness. While the integrity of the non-hierarchical motion pathway is necessary for all visual motion perception, it is insufficient on its own, and the transfer of visual motion signals to additional brain areas is crucial to allow the different motion perception tasks (e.g. optic flow, visuo-vestibular balance, movement observation, dynamic form detection and perception, and even reading). I argue that this lateral visual motion pathway can be distinguished from the dorsal pathway not only based on faster response latencies and distinct anatomical connections, but also based on its full field representation. I also distinguish between this primary lateral visual motion pathway sensitive to all motion in the visual field, and a much less investigated optic flow sensitive medial processing pathway (from V1 to V6 and V6A) that appears to be part of the dorsal pathway. Multiple additional predictions are provided that allow testing this proposal and distinguishing between the visual pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharon Gilaie-Dotan
- UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, London WC1N 3AR, UK; Visual Science and Optometry, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
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Jiang F, Stecker GC, Boynton GM, Fine I. Early Blindness Results in Developmental Plasticity for Auditory Motion Processing within Auditory and Occipital Cortex. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:324. [PMID: 27458357 PMCID: PMC4932114 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2015] [Accepted: 06/13/2016] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Early blind subjects exhibit superior abilities for processing auditory motion, which are accompanied by enhanced BOLD responses to auditory motion within hMT+ and reduced responses within right planum temporale (rPT). Here, by comparing BOLD responses to auditory motion in hMT+ and rPT within sighted controls, early blind, late blind, and sight-recovery individuals, we were able to separately examine the effects of developmental and adult visual deprivation on cortical plasticity within these two areas. We find that both the enhanced auditory motion responses in hMT+ and the reduced functionality in rPT are driven by the absence of visual experience early in life; neither loss nor recovery of vision later in life had a discernable influence on plasticity within these areas. Cortical plasticity as a result of blindness has generally be presumed to be mediated by competition across modalities within a given cortical region. The reduced functionality within rPT as a result of early visual loss implicates an additional mechanism for cross modal plasticity as a result of early blindness—competition across different cortical areas for functional role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang Jiang
- Department of Psychology, University of Nevada Reno, NV, USA
| | - G Christopher Stecker
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Nashville, TN, USA
| | | | - Ione Fine
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington Seattle, WA, USA
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