1
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Norman LJ, Hartley T, Thaler L. Changes in primary visual and auditory cortex of blind and sighted adults following 10 weeks of click-based echolocation training. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae239. [PMID: 38897817 PMCID: PMC11186672 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Revised: 05/14/2024] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Recent work suggests that the adult human brain is very adaptable when it comes to sensory processing. In this context, it has also been suggested that structural "blueprints" may fundamentally constrain neuroplastic change, e.g. in response to sensory deprivation. Here, we trained 12 blind participants and 14 sighted participants in echolocation over a 10-week period, and used MRI in a pre-post design to measure functional and structural brain changes. We found that blind participants and sighted participants together showed a training-induced increase in activation in left and right V1 in response to echoes, a finding difficult to reconcile with the view that sensory cortex is strictly organized by modality. Further, blind participants and sighted participants showed a training induced increase in activation in right A1 in response to sounds per se (i.e. not echo-specific), and this was accompanied by an increase in gray matter density in right A1 in blind participants and in adjacent acoustic areas in sighted participants. The similarity in functional results between sighted participants and blind participants is consistent with the idea that reorganization may be governed by similar principles in the two groups, yet our structural analyses also showed differences between the groups suggesting that a more nuanced view may be required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liam J Norman
- Department of Psychology, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
| | - Tom Hartley
- Department of Psychology and York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, Heslington, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Lore Thaler
- Department of Psychology, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
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2
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Wang G, Alais D. Tactile adaptation to orientation produces a robust tilt aftereffect and exhibits crossmodal transfer when tested in vision. Sci Rep 2024; 14:10164. [PMID: 38702338 PMCID: PMC11068783 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-60343-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Orientation processing is one of the most fundamental functions in both visual and somatosensory perception. Converging findings suggest that orientation processing in both modalities is closely linked: somatosensory neurons share a similar orientation organisation as visual neurons, and the visual cortex has been found to be heavily involved in tactile orientation perception. Hence, we hypothesized that somatosensation would exhibit a similar orientation adaptation effect, and this adaptation effect would be transferable between the two modalities, considering the above-mentioned connection. The tilt aftereffect (TAE) is a demonstration of orientation adaptation and is used widely in behavioural experiments to investigate orientation mechanisms in vision. By testing the classic TAE paradigm in both tactile and crossmodal orientation tasks between vision and touch, we were able to show that tactile perception of orientation shows a very robust TAE, similar to its visual counterpart. We further show that orientation adaptation in touch transfers to produce a TAE when tested in vision, but not vice versa. Additionally, when examining the test sequence following adaptation for serial effects, we observed another asymmetry between the two conditions where the visual test sequence displayed a repulsive intramodal serial dependence effect while the tactile test sequence exhibited an attractive serial dependence. These findings provide concrete evidence that vision and touch engage a similar orientation processing mechanism. However, the asymmetry in the crossmodal transfer of TAE and serial dependence points to a non-reciprocal connection between the two modalities, providing further insights into the underlying processing mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guandong Wang
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
| | - David Alais
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
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3
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Saccone EJ, Tian M, Bedny M. Developing cortex is functionally pluripotent: Evidence from blindness. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2024; 66:101360. [PMID: 38394708 PMCID: PMC10899073 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101360] [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: 08/25/2023] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
How rigidly does innate architecture constrain function of developing cortex? What is the contribution of early experience? We review insights into these questions from visual cortex function in people born blind. In blindness, occipital cortices are active during auditory and tactile tasks. What 'cross-modal' plasticity tells us about cortical flexibility is debated. On the one hand, visual networks of blind people respond to higher cognitive information, such as sentence grammar, suggesting drastic repurposing. On the other, in line with 'metamodal' accounts, sighted and blind populations show shared domain preferences in ventral occipito-temporal cortex (vOTC), suggesting visual areas switch input modality but perform the same or similar perceptual functions (e.g., face recognition) in blindness. Here we bring these disparate literatures together, reviewing and synthesizing evidence that speaks to whether visual cortices have similar or different functions in blind and sighted people. Together, the evidence suggests that in blindness, visual cortices are incorporated into higher-cognitive (e.g., fronto-parietal) networks, which are a major source long-range input to the visual system. We propose the connectivity-constrained experience-dependent account. Functional development is constrained by innate anatomical connectivity, experience and behavioral needs. Infant cortex is pluripotent, the same anatomical constraints develop into different functional outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth J Saccone
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Mengyu Tian
- Center for Educational Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, China
| | - Marina Bedny
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
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4
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Masi M. An evidence-based critical review of the mind-brain identity theory. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1150605. [PMID: 37965649 PMCID: PMC10641890 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1150605] [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: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
In the philosophy of mind, neuroscience, and psychology, the causal relationship between phenomenal consciousness, mentation, and brain states has always been a matter of debate. On the one hand, material monism posits consciousness and mind as pure brain epiphenomena. One of its most stringent lines of reasoning relies on a 'loss-of-function lesion premise,' according to which, since brain lesions and neurochemical modifications lead to cognitive impairment and/or altered states of consciousness, there is no reason to doubt the mind-brain identity. On the other hand, dualism or idealism (in one form or another) regard consciousness and mind as something other than the sole product of cerebral activity pointing at the ineffable, undefinable, and seemingly unphysical nature of our subjective qualitative experiences and its related mental dimension. Here, several neuroscientific findings are reviewed that question the idea that posits phenomenal experience as an emergent property of brain activity, and argue that the premise of material monism is based on a logical correlation-causation fallacy. While these (mostly ignored) findings, if considered separately from each other, could, in principle, be recast into a physicalist paradigm, once viewed from an integral perspective, they substantiate equally well an ontology that posits mind and consciousness as a primal phenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Masi
- Independent Researcher, Knetzgau, Germany
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5
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Landelle C, Caron-Guyon J, Nazarian B, Anton J, Sein J, Pruvost L, Amberg M, Giraud F, Félician O, Danna J, Kavounoudias A. Beyond sense-specific processing: decoding texture in the brain from touch and sonified movement. iScience 2023; 26:107965. [PMID: 37810223 PMCID: PMC10551894 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Revised: 07/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Texture, a fundamental object attribute, is perceived through multisensory information including touch and auditory cues. Coherent perceptions may rely on shared texture representations across different senses in the brain. To test this hypothesis, we delivered haptic textures coupled with a sound synthesizer to generate real-time textural sounds. Participants completed roughness estimation tasks with haptic, auditory, or bimodal cues in an MRI scanner. Somatosensory, auditory, and visual cortices were all activated during haptic and auditory exploration, challenging the traditional view that primary sensory cortices are sense-specific. Furthermore, audio-tactile integration was found in secondary somatosensory (S2) and primary auditory cortices. Multivariate analyses revealed shared spatial activity patterns in primary motor and somatosensory cortices, for discriminating texture across both modalities. This study indicates that primary areas and S2 have a versatile representation of multisensory textures, which has significant implications for how the brain processes multisensory cues to interact more efficiently with our environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. Landelle
- McGill University, McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, LNC UMR 7291, Marseille, France
| | - J. Caron-Guyon
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, LNC UMR 7291, Marseille, France
- University of Louvain, Institute for Research in Psychology (IPSY) & Institute of Neuroscience (IoNS), Louvain Bionics Center, Crossmodal Perception and Plasticity Laboratory, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - B. Nazarian
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Centre IRM-INT@CERIMED, Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, INT UMR 7289, Marseille, France
| | - J.L. Anton
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Centre IRM-INT@CERIMED, Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, INT UMR 7289, Marseille, France
| | - J. Sein
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Centre IRM-INT@CERIMED, Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, INT UMR 7289, Marseille, France
| | - L. Pruvost
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Perception, Représentations, Image, Son, Musique, PRISM UMR 7061, Marseille, France
| | - M. Amberg
- Université Lille, Laboratoire d'Electrotechnique et d'Electronique de Puissance, EA 2697-L2EP, Lille, France
| | - F. Giraud
- Université Lille, Laboratoire d'Electrotechnique et d'Electronique de Puissance, EA 2697-L2EP, Lille, France
| | - O. Félician
- Aix Marseille Université, INSERM, Institut des Neurosciences des Systèmes, INS UMR 1106, Marseille, France
| | - J. Danna
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, LNC UMR 7291, Marseille, France
- Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Laboratoire Cognition, Langues, Langage, Ergonomie, CLLE UMR5263, Toulouse, France
| | - A. Kavounoudias
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, LNC UMR 7291, Marseille, France
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6
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Kunnath AJ, Gifford RH, Wallace MT. Cholinergic modulation of sensory perception and plasticity. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 152:105323. [PMID: 37467908 PMCID: PMC10424559 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105323] [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: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023]
Abstract
Sensory systems are highly plastic, but the mechanisms of sensory plasticity remain unclear. People with vision or hearing loss demonstrate significant neural network reorganization that promotes adaptive changes in other sensory modalities as well as in their ability to combine information across the different senses (i.e., multisensory integration. Furthermore, sensory network remodeling is necessary for sensory restoration after a period of sensory deprivation. Acetylcholine is a powerful regulator of sensory plasticity, and studies suggest that cholinergic medications may improve visual and auditory abilities by facilitating sensory network plasticity. There are currently no approved therapeutics for sensory loss that target neuroplasticity. This review explores the systems-level effects of cholinergic signaling on human visual and auditory perception, with a focus on functional performance, sensory disorders, and neural activity. Understanding the role of acetylcholine in sensory plasticity will be essential for developing targeted treatments for sensory restoration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ansley J Kunnath
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Medical Scientist Training Program, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - René H Gifford
- Department of Otolaryngology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Mark T Wallace
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
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7
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Hashimoto A, Kawamura N, Tarusawa E, Takeda I, Aoyama Y, Ohno N, Inoue M, Kagamiuchi M, Kato D, Matsumoto M, Hasegawa Y, Nabekura J, Schaefer A, Moorhouse AJ, Yagi T, Wake H. Microglia enable cross-modal plasticity by removing inhibitory synapses. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112383. [PMID: 37086724 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Cross-modal plasticity is the repurposing of brain regions associated with deprived sensory inputs to improve the capacity of other sensory modalities. The functional mechanisms of cross-modal plasticity can indicate how the brain recovers from various forms of injury and how different sensory modalities are integrated. Here, we demonstrate that rewiring of the microglia-mediated local circuit synapse is crucial for cross-modal plasticity induced by visual deprivation (monocular deprivation [MD]). MD relieves the usual inhibition of functional connectivity between the somatosensory cortex and secondary lateral visual cortex (V2L). This results in enhanced excitatory responses in V2L neurons during whisker stimulation and a greater capacity for vibrissae sensory discrimination. The enhanced cross-modal response is mediated by selective removal of inhibitory synapse terminals on pyramidal neurons by the microglia in the V2L via matrix metalloproteinase 9 signaling. Our results provide insights into how cortical circuits integrate different inputs to functionally compensate for neuronal damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akari Hashimoto
- Department of Anatomy and Molecular Cell Biology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan
| | - Nanami Kawamura
- KOKORO-Biology Group, Laboratories for Integrated Biology, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita 565-0871, Japan
| | - Etsuko Tarusawa
- KOKORO-Biology Group, Laboratories for Integrated Biology, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita 565-0871, Japan
| | - Ikuko Takeda
- Department of Anatomy and Molecular Cell Biology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan
| | - Yuki Aoyama
- Department of Anatomy and Molecular Cell Biology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan
| | - Nobuhiko Ohno
- Department of Anatomy, Division of Histology and Cell Biology, Jichi Medical University, Shimotsuke 329-0498, Japan; Division of Ultrastructural Research, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
| | - Mio Inoue
- Department of Anatomy and Molecular Cell Biology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan
| | - Mai Kagamiuchi
- Department of Anatomy and Molecular Cell Biology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan
| | - Daisuke Kato
- Department of Anatomy and Molecular Cell Biology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan
| | - Mami Matsumoto
- Section of Electron Microscopy, Supportive Center for Brain Research, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan; Department of Developmental and Regenerative Neurobiology, Institute of Brain Science, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan
| | - Yoshihiro Hasegawa
- Department of Anatomy and Molecular Cell Biology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan
| | - Junichi Nabekura
- Division of Homeostatic Development, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan; Department of Physiological Sciences, Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, Hayama 240-0193, Japan
| | - Anne Schaefer
- Center for Glial Biology, Department of Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029-6574, USA; Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, 50931 Cologne, Germany
| | - Andrew J Moorhouse
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Takeshi Yagi
- KOKORO-Biology Group, Laboratories for Integrated Biology, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita 565-0871, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Wake
- Department of Anatomy and Molecular Cell Biology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan; Division of Multicellular Circuit Dynamics, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan; Center for Optical Scattering Image Science, Kobe University, Kobe 657-8501, Japan; Department of Physiological Sciences, Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, Hayama 240-0193, Japan; Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Saitama 332-0012, Japan.
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8
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Radziun D, Crucianelli L, Korczyk M, Szwed M, Ehrsson HH. The perception of affective and discriminative touch in blind individuals. Behav Brain Res 2023; 444:114361. [PMID: 36842553 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Revised: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 02/28/2023]
Abstract
Enhanced tactile acuity in blindness is among the most widely reported results of neuroplasticity following prolonged visual deprivation. However, tactile submodalities other than discriminative touch are profoundly understudied in blind individuals. Here, we examined the influence of blindness on two tactile submodalities, affective and discriminative touch, the former being vital for social functioning and emotional processing. We tested 36 blind individuals and 36 age- and sex-matched sighted volunteers. In Experiment 1, we measured the perception of affective tactile signals by asking participants to rate the pleasantness of touch delivered on the palm (nonhairy skin, sparsely innervated with C tactile [CT] fibers) or the forearm (hairy skin, densely innervated with CT fibers) in a CT-optimal versus a CT-nonoptimal manner using a paradigm grounded in studies on tactile sensory neurophysiology. In Experiment 2, we implemented a classic task assessing discriminative touch abilities, the grating orientation task. We found that blind individuals rated the touch as more pleasant when delivered on the palm than on the forearm, while the opposite pattern was observed for sighted participants, who rated stimulation on the forearm as more pleasant than stimulation on the palm. We also replicated the previous findings showing enhanced discriminative tactile acuity in blind individuals. Altogether, our results suggest that blind individuals might experience affective touch differently than sighted individuals, with relatively greater pleasantness perceived on the palm. These results provide a broader insight into somatosensory perception in blind individuals, for the first time taking into consideration the socioemotional aspect of touch.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominika Radziun
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Laura Crucianelli
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | | | - Marcin Szwed
- Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
| | - H Henrik Ehrsson
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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9
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Federici A, Bernardi G, Senna I, Fantoni M, Ernst MO, Ricciardi E, Bottari D. Crossmodal plasticity following short-term monocular deprivation. Neuroimage 2023; 274:120141. [PMID: 37120043 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120141] [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: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/01/2023] Open
Abstract
A brief period of monocular deprivation (MD) induces short-term plasticity of the adult visual system. Whether MD elicits neural changes beyond visual processing is yet unclear. Here, we assessed the specific impact of MD on neural correlates of multisensory processes. Neural oscillations associated with visual and audio-visual processing were measured for both the deprived and the non-deprived eye. Results revealed that MD changed neural activities associated with visual and multisensory processes in an eye-specific manner. Selectively for the deprived eye, alpha synchronization was reduced within the first 150 ms of visual processing. Conversely, gamma activity was enhanced in response to audio-visual events only for the non-deprived eye within 100-300 ms after stimulus onset. The analysis of gamma responses to unisensory auditory events revealed that MD elicited a crossmodal upweight for the non-deprived eye. Distributed source modeling suggested that the right parietal cortex played a major role in neural effects induced by MD. Finally, visual and audio-visual processing alterations emerged for the induced component of the neural oscillations, indicating a prominent role of feedback connectivity. Results reveal the causal impact of MD on both unisensory (visual and auditory) and multisensory (audio-visual) processes and, their frequency-specific profiles. These findings support a model in which MD increases excitability to visual events for the deprived eye and audio-visual and auditory input for the non-deprived eye.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Federici
- MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, 55100 Lucca, Italy.
| | - G Bernardi
- MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, 55100 Lucca, Italy
| | - I Senna
- Applied Cognitive Psychology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - M Fantoni
- MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, 55100 Lucca, Italy
| | - M O Ernst
- Applied Cognitive Psychology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - E Ricciardi
- MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, 55100 Lucca, Italy
| | - D Bottari
- MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, 55100 Lucca, Italy
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10
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Westlin C, Theriault JE, Katsumi Y, Nieto-Castanon A, Kucyi A, Ruf SF, Brown SM, Pavel M, Erdogmus D, Brooks DH, Quigley KS, Whitfield-Gabrieli S, Barrett LF. Improving the study of brain-behavior relationships by revisiting basic assumptions. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:246-257. [PMID: 36739181 PMCID: PMC10012342 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Revised: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/29/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Neuroimaging research has been at the forefront of concerns regarding the failure of experimental findings to replicate. In the study of brain-behavior relationships, past failures to find replicable and robust effects have been attributed to methodological shortcomings. Methodological rigor is important, but there are other overlooked possibilities: most published studies share three foundational assumptions, often implicitly, that may be faulty. In this paper, we consider the empirical evidence from human brain imaging and the study of non-human animals that calls each foundational assumption into question. We then consider the opportunities for a robust science of brain-behavior relationships that await if scientists ground their research efforts in revised assumptions supported by current empirical evidence.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jordan E Theriault
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Yuta Katsumi
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alfonso Nieto-Castanon
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Aaron Kucyi
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Sebastian F Ruf
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sarah M Brown
- Department of Computer Science and Statistics, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA
| | - Misha Pavel
- Khoury College of Computer Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA; Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Deniz Erdogmus
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Dana H Brooks
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Karen S Quigley
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Lisa Feldman Barrett
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA; A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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11
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Bang JW, Hamilton-Fletcher G, Chan KC. Visual Plasticity in Adulthood: Perspectives from Hebbian and Homeostatic Plasticity. Neuroscientist 2023; 29:117-138. [PMID: 34382456 PMCID: PMC9356772 DOI: 10.1177/10738584211037619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
The visual system retains profound plastic potential in adulthood. In the current review, we summarize the evidence of preserved plasticity in the adult visual system during visual perceptual learning as well as both monocular and binocular visual deprivation. In each condition, we discuss how such evidence reflects two major cellular mechanisms of plasticity: Hebbian and homeostatic processes. We focus on how these two mechanisms work together to shape plasticity in the visual system. In addition, we discuss how these two mechanisms could be further revealed in future studies investigating cross-modal plasticity in the visual system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ji Won Bang
- Department of Ophthalmology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Giles Hamilton-Fletcher
- Department of Ophthalmology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kevin C. Chan
- Department of Ophthalmology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Radiology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Neural Science, College of Arts and Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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12
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Ji Y, Wang L, Ding H, Tian Q, Fan K, Shi D, Yu C, Qin W. Aberrant neurovascular coupling in Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy: Evidence from a multi-model MRI analysis. Front Neurosci 2023; 16:1050772. [PMID: 36703998 PMCID: PMC9871937 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.1050772] [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: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The study aimed to investigate the neurovascular coupling abnormalities in Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) and their associations with clinical manifestations. Twenty qualified acute Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (A-LHON, disease duration ≤ 1 year), 29 chronic Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (C-LHON, disease duration > 1 year), as well as 37 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. The neurovascular coupling strength was quantified as the ratio between regional homogeneity (ReHo), which represents intrinsic neuronal activity and relative cerebral blood flow (CBF), representing microcirculatory blood supply. A one-way analysis of variance was used to compare intergroup differences in ReHo/CBF ratio with gender and age as co-variables. Pearson's Correlation was used to clarify the association between ReHo, CBF, and neurovascular coupling strength. Furthermore, we applied linear and exponential non-linear regression models to explore the associations among ReHo/CBF, disease duration, and neuro-ophthalmological metrics. Compared with HCs, A_LHON, and C_LHON patients demonstrated a higher ReHo/CBF ratio than the HCs in the bilateral primary visual cortex (B_CAL), which was accompanied by reduced CBF while preserved ReHo. Besides, only C_LHON had a higher ReHo/CBF ratio and reduced CBF in the left middle temporal gyrus (L_MTG) and left sensorimotor cortex (L_SMC) than the HCs, which was accompanied by increased ReHo in L_MTG (p < 1.85e-3, Bonferroni correction). A-LHON and C-LHON showed a negative Pearson correlation between ReHo/CBF ratio and CBF in B_CAL, L_SMC, and L_MTG. Only C_LHON showed a weak positive correlation between ReHo/CBF ratio and ReHo in L_SMC and L_MTG (p < 0.05, uncorrected). Finally, disease duration was positively correlated with ReHo/CBF ratio of L_SMC (Exponential: Radj2 = 0.23, p = 8.66e-4, Bonferroni correction). No statistical correlation was found between ReHo/CBF ratio and neuro-ophthalmological metrics (p > 0.05, Bonferroni correction). Brain neurovascular "dyscoupling" within and outside the visual system might be an important neurological mechanism of LHON.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Ji
- Tianjin Key Lab of Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Ling Wang
- Department of Medical Imaging, Henan Provincial People’s Hospital, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Hao Ding
- Tianjin Key Lab of Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China,School of Medical Imaging, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Qin Tian
- Department of Medical Imaging, Henan Provincial People’s Hospital, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Ke Fan
- Henan Eye Institute, Henan Eye Hospital, Henan Provincial People’s Hospital, Zhengzhou University People’s Hospital, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Dapeng Shi
- Department of Medical Imaging, Henan Provincial People’s Hospital, Zhengzhou, China,*Correspondence: Dapeng Shi,
| | - Chunshui Yu
- Tianjin Key Lab of Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China,Chunshui Yu,
| | - Wen Qin
- Tianjin Key Lab of Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China,Wen Qin,
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13
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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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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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Musz E, Loiotile R, Chen J, Cusack R, Bedny M. Naturalistic stimuli reveal a sensitive period in cross modal responses of visual cortex: Evidence from adult-onset blindness. Neuropsychologia 2022; 172:108277. [PMID: 35636634 PMCID: PMC9648859 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Revised: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
How do life experiences impact cortical function? In people who are born blind, the "visual" cortices are recruited during nonvisual tasks, such as Braille reading and sound localization. Do visual cortices have a latent capacity to respond to nonvisual information throughout the lifespan? Alternatively, is there a sensitive period of heightened plasticity that makes visual cortex repurposing especially possible during childhood? To gain insight into these questions, we leveraged meaningful naturalistic auditory stimuli to simultaneously engage a broad range of cognitive domains and quantify cross-modal responses across congenitally blind (n = 22), adult-onset blind (vision loss >18 years-of-age, n = 14) and sighted (n = 22) individuals. During fMRI scanning, participants listened to two types of meaningful naturalistic auditory stimuli: excerpts from movies and a spoken narrative. As controls, participants heard the same narrative with the sentences shuffled and the narrative played backwards (i.e., meaningless sounds). We correlated the voxel-wise timecourses of different participants within condition and group. For all groups, all stimulus conditions induced synchrony in auditory cortex while only the narrative stimuli synchronized responses in higher-cognitive fronto-parietal and temporal regions. As previously reported, inter-subject synchrony in visual cortices was higher in congenitally blind than sighted blindfolded participants and this between-group difference was particularly pronounced for meaningful stimuli (movies and narrative). Critically, visual cortex synchrony was no higher in adult-onset blind than sighted blindfolded participants and did not increase with blindness duration. Sensitive period plasticity enables cross-modal repurposing in visual cortices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Musz
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Rita Loiotile
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Janice Chen
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Rhodri Cusack
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Marina Bedny
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
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16
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de Wit MM, Matheson HE. Context-sensitive computational mechanistic explanation in cognitive neuroscience. Front Psychol 2022; 13:903960. [PMID: 35936251 PMCID: PMC9355036 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.903960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Mainstream cognitive neuroscience aims to build mechanistic explanations of behavior by mapping abilities described at the organismal level via the subpersonal level of computation onto specific brain networks. We provide an integrative review of these commitments and their mismatch with empirical research findings. Context-dependent neural tuning, neural reuse, degeneracy, plasticity, functional recovery, and the neural correlates of enculturated skills each show that there is a lack of stable mappings between organismal, computational, and neural levels of analysis. We furthermore highlight recent research suggesting that task context at the organismal level determines the dynamic parcellation of functional components at the neural level. Such instability prevents the establishment of specific computational descriptions of neural function, which remains a central goal of many brain mappers - including those who are sympathetic to the notion of many-to-many mappings between organismal and neural levels. This between-level instability presents a deep epistemological challenge and requires a reorientation of methodological and theoretical commitments within cognitive neuroscience. We demonstrate the need for change to brain mapping efforts in the face of instability if cognitive neuroscience is to maintain its central goal of constructing computational mechanistic explanations of behavior; we show that such explanations must be contextual at all levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthieu M. de Wit
- Department of Neuroscience, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA, United States
| | - Heath E. Matheson
- Department of Psychology, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada
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17
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The Time Course of Emotional Authenticity Detection in Nonverbal Vocalizations. Cortex 2022; 151:116-132. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Revised: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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18
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Kim YH, Schrode KM, Engel J, Vicencio-Jimenez S, Rodriguez G, Lee HK, Lauer AM. Auditory Behavior in Adult-Blinded Mice. J Assoc Res Otolaryngol 2022; 23:225-239. [PMID: 35084628 PMCID: PMC8964904 DOI: 10.1007/s10162-022-00835-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/31/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Cross-modal plasticity occurs when the function of remaining senses is enhanced following deprivation or loss of a sensory modality. Auditory neural responses are enhanced in the auditory cortex, including increased sensitivity and frequency selectivity, following short-term visual deprivation in adult mice (Petrus et al. Neuron 81:664-673, 2014). Whether or not these visual deprivation-induced neural changes translate into improved auditory perception and performance remains unclear. As an initial investigation of the effects of adult visual deprivation on auditory behaviors, CBA/CaJ mice underwent binocular enucleation at 3-4 weeks old and were tested on a battery of learned behavioral tasks, acoustic startle response (ASR), and prepulse inhibition (PPI) tests beginning at least 2 weeks after the enucleation procedure. Auditory brain stem responses (ABRs) were also measured to screen for potential effects of visual deprivation on non-behavioral hearing function. Control and enucleated mice showed similar tone detection sensitivity and frequency discrimination in a conditioned lick suppression test. Both groups showed normal reactivity to sound as measured by ASR in a quiet background. However, when startle-eliciting stimuli were presented in noise, enucleated mice showed decreased ASR amplitude relative to controls. Control and enucleated mice displayed no significant differences in ASR habituation, PPI tests, or ABR thresholds, or wave morphology. Our findings suggest that while adult-onset visual deprivation induces cross-modal plasticity at the synaptic and circuit levels, it does not substantially influence simple auditory behavioral performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ye-Hyun Kim
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Center for Hearing and Balance, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Katrina M Schrode
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Center for Hearing and Balance, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - James Engel
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Center for Hearing and Balance, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Sergio Vicencio-Jimenez
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Center for Hearing and Balance, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Gabriela Rodriguez
- Cell, Molecular, Developmental Biology, and Biophysics (CMDB) Graduate Program, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Hey-Kyoung Lee
- Cell, Molecular, Developmental Biology, and Biophysics (CMDB) Graduate Program, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Zanvyl-Krieger Mind/Brain Institute and Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Amanda M Lauer
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Center for Hearing and Balance, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA. .,Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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19
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Rossini PM, Miraglia F, Vecchio F, Di Iorio R, Iodice F, Cotelli M. General principles of brain electromagnetic rhythmic oscillations and implications for neuroplasticity. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2022; 184:221-237. [PMID: 35034737 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-819410-2.00012-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Neuro-plasticity describes the ability of the brain in achieving novel functions, either by transforming its internal connectivity, or by changing the elements of which it is made, meaning that, only those changes, that affect both structural and functional aspects of the system, can be defined as "plastic." The concept of plasticity can be applied to molecular as well as to environmental events that can be recognized as the basic mechanism by which our brain reacts to the internal and external stimuli. When considering brain plasticity within a clinical context-that is the process linked with changes of brain functions following a lesion- the term "reorganization" is somewhat synonymous, referring to the specific types of structural/functional modifications observed as axonal sprouting, long-term synaptic potentiation/inhibition or to the plasticity related genomic responses. Furthermore, brain rewires during maturation, and aging thus maintaining a remarkable learning capacity, allowing it to acquire a wide range of skills, from motor actions to complex abstract reasoning, in a lifelong expression. In this review, the contribution on the "neuroplasticity" topic coming from advanced analysis of EEG rhythms is put forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Maria Rossini
- Brain Connectivity Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience & Neurorehabilitation, IRCCS San Raffaele Roma, Rome, Italy.
| | - Francesca Miraglia
- Brain Connectivity Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience & Neurorehabilitation, IRCCS San Raffaele Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Vecchio
- Brain Connectivity Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience & Neurorehabilitation, IRCCS San Raffaele Roma, Rome, Italy; Department of Technical and Applied Sciences, eCampus University, Novedrate (Como), Italy
| | | | - Francesco Iodice
- Brain Connectivity Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience & Neurorehabilitation, IRCCS San Raffaele Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Cotelli
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
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20
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Radziun D, Crucianelli L, Ehrsson HH. Limits of Cross-modal Plasticity? Short-term Visual Deprivation Does Not Enhance Cardiac Interoception, Thermosensation, or Tactile Spatial Acuity. Biol Psychol 2021; 168:108248. [PMID: 34971758 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2021] [Revised: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
In the present study, we investigated the effect of short-term visual deprivation on discriminative touch, cardiac interoception, and thermosensation by asking 64 healthy volunteers to perform four behavioral tasks. The experimental group contained 32 subjects who were blindfolded and kept in complete darkness for 110minutes, while the control group consisted of 32 volunteers who were not blindfolded but were otherwise kept under identical experimental conditions. Both groups performed the required tasks three times: before and directly after deprivation (or control) and after an additional washout period of 40minutes, in which all participants were exposed to normal light conditions. Our results showed that short-term visual deprivation had no effect on any of the senses tested. This finding suggests that short-term visual deprivation does not modulate basic bodily senses and extends this principle beyond tactile processing to the interoceptive modalities of cardiac and thermal sensations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominika Radziun
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Laura Crucianelli
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - H Henrik Ehrsson
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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21
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Dias JW, McClaskey CM, Harris KC. Early auditory cortical processing predicts auditory speech in noise identification and lipreading. Neuropsychologia 2021; 161:108012. [PMID: 34474065 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.108012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Revised: 08/20/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Individuals typically exhibit better cross-sensory perception following unisensory loss, demonstrating improved perception of information available from the remaining senses and increased cross-sensory use of neural resources. Even individuals with no sensory loss will exhibit such changes in cross-sensory processing following temporary sensory deprivation, suggesting that the brain's capacity for recruiting cross-sensory sources to compensate for degraded unisensory input is a general characteristic of the perceptual process. Many studies have investigated how auditory and visual neural structures respond to within- and cross-sensory input. However, little attention has been given to how general auditory and visual neural processing relates to within and cross-sensory perception. The current investigation examines the extent to which individual differences in general auditory neural processing accounts for variability in auditory, visual, and audiovisual speech perception in a sample of young healthy adults. Auditory neural processing was assessed using a simple click stimulus. We found that individuals with a smaller P1 peak amplitude in their auditory-evoked potential (AEP) had more difficulty identifying speech sounds in difficult listening conditions, but were better lipreaders. The results suggest that individual differences in the auditory neural processing of healthy adults can account for variability in the perception of information available from the auditory and visual modalities, similar to the cross-sensory perceptual compensation observed in individuals with sensory loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- James W Dias
- Medical University of South Carolina, United States.
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22
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Brown HDH, Gouws AD, Vernon RJW, Lawrence SJD, Donnelly G, Gill L, Gale RP, Baseler HA, Morland AB. Assessing functional reorganization in visual cortex with simulated retinal lesions. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 226:2855-2867. [PMID: 34529124 PMCID: PMC8541975 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02366-w] [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: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Macular
degeneration (MD) causes central vision loss, removing input to corresponding representations in the primary visual cortex. There is disagreement concerning whether the cortical regions deprived of input can remain responsive, and the source of reported cortical responses is still debated. To simulate MD in controls, normally sighted participants viewed a bright central disk to adapt the retina, creating a transient ‘retinal lesion’ during a functional MRI experiment. Participants viewed blocks of faces, scrambled faces and uniform grey stimuli, either passively or whilst performing a one-back task. To assess the impact of the simulated lesion, participants repeated the paradigm using a more conventional mean luminance simulated scotoma without adaptation. Our results suggest our attempt to create a more realistic simulation of a lesion did not impact on responses in the representation of the simulated lesion. While most participants showed no evidence of stimulus-driven activation within the lesion representation, a few individuals (22%) exhibited responses similar to a participant with juvenile MD who completed the same paradigm (without adaptation). Reliability analysis showed that responses in the representation of the lesion were generally consistent irrespective of whether positive or negative. We provide some evidence that peripheral visual stimulation can also produce responses in central representations in controls while performing a task. This suggests that the ‘signature of reorganization of visual processing’, is not found solely in patients with retinal lesions, consistent with the idea that activity may be driven by unmasked top–down feedback.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly D H Brown
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK.,York Neuroimaging Centre, University of York, York, UK.,York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, York, UK
| | - André D Gouws
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK.,York Neuroimaging Centre, University of York, York, UK
| | - Richard J W Vernon
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK.,York Neuroimaging Centre, University of York, York, UK.,York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, York, UK
| | - Samuel J D Lawrence
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK.,York Neuroimaging Centre, University of York, York, UK
| | - Gemma Donnelly
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Lorraine Gill
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Richard P Gale
- Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, UK.,Academic Unit of Ophthalmology, York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, York, UK
| | - Heidi A Baseler
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK.,York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, York, UK.,Hull York Medical School, University of York, York, UK
| | - Antony B Morland
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK. .,York Neuroimaging Centre, University of York, York, UK. .,York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, York, UK.
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23
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Linton P. V1 as an egocentric cognitive map. Neurosci Conscious 2021; 2021:niab017. [PMID: 34532068 PMCID: PMC8439394 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niab017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Revised: 05/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
We typically distinguish between V1 as an egocentric perceptual map and the hippocampus as an allocentric cognitive map. In this article, we argue that V1 also functions as a post-perceptual egocentric cognitive map. We argue that three well-documented functions of V1, namely (i) the estimation of distance, (ii) the estimation of size, and (iii) multisensory integration, are better understood as post-perceptual cognitive inferences. This argument has two important implications. First, we argue that V1 must function as the neural correlates of the visual perception/cognition distinction and suggest how this can be accommodated by V1's laminar structure. Second, we use this insight to propose a low-level account of visual consciousness in contrast to mid-level accounts (recurrent processing theory; integrated information theory) and higher-level accounts (higher-order thought; global workspace theory). Detection thresholds have been traditionally used to rule out such an approach, but we explain why it is a mistake to equate visibility (and therefore the presence/absence of visual experience) with detection thresholds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Linton
- Centre for Applied Vision Research, City, University of London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK
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24
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Speijer D. Getting updated on the brain: A review of “Livewired—The inside story of the ever‐changing brain” by David Eagleman. Bioessays 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/bies.202100199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Dave Speijer
- AmsterdamUMC Medical Biochemistry Amsterdam The Netherlands
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25
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Lynch P, Monaghan K. Effects of sensory substituted functional training on balance, gait, and functional performance in neurological patient populations: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Heliyon 2021; 7:e08007. [PMID: 34604558 PMCID: PMC8473554 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08007] [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: 01/19/2021] [Revised: 03/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Sensory Substitution (SS) is the use of one sensory modality to supply environmental information normally gathered by another sense while still preserving key functions of the original sense. OBJECTIVE This systematic literature review and meta-analysis summarises and synthesise current evidence and data to estimate the effectiveness of SS supplemented training for improving balance, gait and functional performance in neurological patient populations. METHODS A systematic literature search was performed in Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using a SS training intervention were included. RESULTS Nine RCTs were included. Outcome measures/training paradigms were structured according to the balance framework of Shumway-Cook and Woollacott: Static steady-state, Dynamic steady-state and Proactive balance. Meta-analyses revealed significant overall effects of SS training for all three outcomes, as well as self-assessment and functional capacity outcomes, with Dynamic Steady-State balance and ability of stroke survivors to support bodyweight independently on paretic side lower limb found to have had the largest statistical and clinical effects. Meta-analyses also revealed non-significant retention effects. CONCLUSION This review provides evidence in favour of a global positive effect of SS training in improving Static steady-state, Dynamic steady-state and Proactive balance measures, as well as measures of self-assessment and functional capacity in neurological patient populations. Retention of effects were not significant at follow-up assessments, although no intervention met training dosage recommendations. It is important for future research to consider variables such as specific patient population, sensor type, and training modalities in order identify the most effective type of training paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Lynch
- Clinical Health and Nutrition Centre (CHANCE), School of Science, Institute of Technology (IT) Sligo, Ireland
- Neuroplasticity Research Group, Clinical Health and Nutrition Centre (CHANCE), School of Science, Institute of Technology (IT) Sligo, Ireland
| | - Kenneth Monaghan
- Clinical Health and Nutrition Centre (CHANCE), School of Science, Institute of Technology (IT) Sligo, Ireland
- Neuroplasticity Research Group, Clinical Health and Nutrition Centre (CHANCE), School of Science, Institute of Technology (IT) Sligo, Ireland
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26
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Kanjlia S, Loiotile RE, Harhen N, Bedny M. 'Visual' cortices of congenitally blind adults are sensitive to response selection demands in a go/no-go task. Neuroimage 2021; 236:118023. [PMID: 33862241 PMCID: PMC8249356 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2020] [Revised: 02/16/2021] [Accepted: 03/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies of occipital cortex plasticity in blindness provide insight into how intrinsic constraints interact with experience to determine cortical specialization. We tested the cognitive nature and anatomical origins of occipital responses during non-verbal, non-spatial auditory tasks. In a go/no-go task, congenitally blind (N=23) and sighted (N=24) individuals heard rapidly occurring (<1/s) non-verbal sounds and made one of two button presses (frequent-go 50%, infrequent-go 25%) or withheld a response (no-go, 25%). Rapid and frequent button presses heighten response selection/inhibition demands on the no-go trials: In sighted and blind adults a right-lateralized prefrontal (PFC) network responded most to no-go trials, followed by infrequent-go and finally frequent-go trials. In the blind group only, a right-lateralized occipital network showed the same response profile and the laterality of occipital and PFC responses was correlated across blind individuals. A second experiment with spoken sentences and equations (N=16) found that no-go responses in occipital cortex are distinct from previously identified occipital responses to spoken language. Finally, in resting-state data (N=30 blind, N=31 blindfolded sighted), no-go responsive 'visual' cortex of blind relative to sighted participants was more synchronized with PFC and less synchronized with primary auditory and sensory-motor cortices. No-go responsive occipital cortex showed higher resting-state correlations with no-go responsive PFC than language responsive inferior frontal cortex. We conclude that in blindness, a right-lateralized occipital network responds to non-verbal executive processes, including response selection. These results suggest that connectivity with fronto-parietal executive networks is a key mechanism for plasticity in blindness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shipra Kanjlia
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, United States; Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, 346 Baker Hall, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States.
| | - Rita E Loiotile
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, United States; Facebook, United States
| | - Nora Harhen
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, United States; Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California Irvine, United States
| | - Marina Bedny
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, United States
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27
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Temporal Dynamics of Brain White Matter Plasticity in Sighted Subjects during Tactile Braille Learning: A Longitudinal Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study. J Neurosci 2021; 41:7076-7085. [PMID: 34253624 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2242-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2020] [Revised: 05/05/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The white matter (WM) architecture of the human brain changes in response to training, though fine-grained temporal characteristics of training-induced white matter plasticity remain unexplored. We investigated white matter microstructural changes using diffusion tensor imaging at five different time points in 26 sighted female adults during 8 months of training on tactile braille reading. Our results show that training-induced white matter plasticity occurs both within and beyond the trained sensory modality, as reflected by fractional anisotropy (FA) increases in somatosensory and visual cortex, respectively. The observed changes followed distinct time courses, with gradual linear FA increase along the training in the somatosensory cortex and sudden visual cortex cross-modal plasticity occurring after braille input became linguistically meaningful. WM changes observed in these areas returned to baseline after the cessation of learning in line with the supply-demand model of plasticity. These results also indicate that the temporal dynamics of microstructural plasticity in different cortical regions might be modulated by the nature of computational demands. We provide additional evidence that observed FA training-induced changes are behaviorally relevant to tactile reading. Together, these results demonstrate that WM plasticity is a highly dynamic process modulated by the introduction of novel experiences.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Throughout the lifetime the human brain is shaped by various experiences. Training-induced reorganization in white matter (WM) microstructure has been reported, but we know little about its temporal dynamics. To fill this gap, we scanned sighted subjects five times during tactile braille reading training. We observed different dynamics of WM plasticity in the somatosensory and visual cortices implicated in braille reading. The former showed a continuous increase in WM tissue anisotropy along with tactile training, while microstructural changes in the latter were observed only after the participants learned to read braille words. Our results confirm the supply-demand model of brain plasticity and provide evidence that WM reorganization depends on distinct computational demands and functional roles of regions involved in the trained skill.
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28
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Ewall G, Parkins S, Lin A, Jaoui Y, Lee HK. Cortical and Subcortical Circuits for Cross-Modal Plasticity Induced by Loss of Vision. Front Neural Circuits 2021; 15:665009. [PMID: 34113240 PMCID: PMC8185208 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2021.665009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Cortical areas are highly interconnected both via cortical and subcortical pathways, and primary sensory cortices are not isolated from this general structure. In primary sensory cortical areas, these pre-existing functional connections serve to provide contextual information for sensory processing and can mediate adaptation when a sensory modality is lost. Cross-modal plasticity in broad terms refers to widespread plasticity across the brain in response to losing a sensory modality, and largely involves two distinct changes: cross-modal recruitment and compensatory plasticity. The former involves recruitment of the deprived sensory area, which includes the deprived primary sensory cortex, for processing the remaining senses. Compensatory plasticity refers to plasticity in the remaining sensory areas, including the spared primary sensory cortices, to enhance the processing of its own sensory inputs. Here, we will summarize potential cellular plasticity mechanisms involved in cross-modal recruitment and compensatory plasticity, and review cortical and subcortical circuits to the primary sensory cortices which can mediate cross-modal plasticity upon loss of vision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabrielle Ewall
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Zanvyl-Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Samuel Parkins
- Cell, Molecular, Developmental Biology and Biophysics (CMDB) Graduate Program, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Amy Lin
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Zanvyl-Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Yanis Jaoui
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Zanvyl-Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Hey-Kyoung Lee
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Zanvyl-Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States.,Cell, Molecular, Developmental Biology and Biophysics (CMDB) Graduate Program, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States.,Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
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29
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Eagleman DM, Vaughn DA. The Defensive Activation Theory: REM Sleep as a Mechanism to Prevent Takeover of the Visual Cortex. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:632853. [PMID: 34093109 PMCID: PMC8176926 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.632853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Regions of the brain maintain their territory with continuous activity: if activity slows or stops (e.g., because of blindness), the territory tends to be taken over by its neighbors. A surprise in recent years has been the speed of takeover, which is measurable within an hour. These findings lead us to a new hypothesis on the origin of REM sleep. We hypothesize that the circuitry underlying REM sleep serves to amplify the visual system's activity periodically throughout the night, allowing it to defend its territory against takeover from other senses. We find that measures of plasticity across 25 species of primates correlate positively with the proportion of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. We further find that plasticity and REM sleep increase in lockstep with evolutionary recency to humans. Finally, our hypothesis is consistent with the decrease in REM sleep and parallel decrease in neuroplasticity with aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M. Eagleman
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Don A. Vaughn
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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30
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Schmidt D, Carpes FP, Milani TL, Germano AMC. Different visual manipulations have similar effects on quasi-static and dynamic balance responses of young and older people. PeerJ 2021; 9:e11221. [PMID: 34026347 PMCID: PMC8121054 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2020] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Studies demonstrated that the older adults can be more susceptible to balance instability after acute visual manipulation. There are different manipulation approaches used to investigate the importance of visual inputs on balance, e.g., eyes closed and blackout glasses. However, there is evidence that eyes open versus eyes closed results in a different organization of human brain functional networks. It is, however, unclear how different visual manipulations affect balance, and whether such effects differ between young and elderly persons. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether different visual manipulation approaches affect quasi-static and dynamic balance responses differently, and to investigate whether balance responses of young and older adults are affected differently by these various visual conditions. Methods Thirty-six healthy participants (20 young and 16 older adults) performed balance tests (quasi-static and unexpected perturbations) under four visual conditions: Eyes Open, Eyes Closed, Blackout Glasses, and Dark Room. Center of pressure (CoP) and muscle activation (EMG) were quantified. Results As expected, visual deprivation resulted in larger CoP excursions and higher muscle activations during balance tests for all participants. Surprisingly, the visual manipulation approach did not influence balance control in either group. Furthermore, quasi-static and dynamic balance control did not differ between young or older adults. The visual system plays an important role in balance control, however, similarly for both young and older adults. Different visual deprivation approaches did not influence balance results, meaning our results are comparable between participants of different ages. Further studies should investigate whether a critical illumination level may elicit different postural responses between young and older adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Schmidt
- Department of Human Locomotion, Institute of Human Movement Science & Health, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany
| | - Felipe P Carpes
- Applied Neuromechanics Research Group, Federal University of Pampa, Uruguaiana, Brazil
| | - Thomas L Milani
- Department of Human Locomotion, Institute of Human Movement Science & Health, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany
| | - Andresa M C Germano
- Department of Human Locomotion, Institute of Human Movement Science & Health, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany
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31
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Morland AB, Brown HDH, Baseler HA. Cortical Reorganization: Reallocated Responses without Rewiring. Curr Biol 2021; 31:R76-R78. [PMID: 33497635 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Is the brain able to reorganise following loss of sensory input? New work on individuals with sight loss shows that, while brain areas normally allocated to vision respond to other sensory stimuli, those responses are unlikely to mean the brain has rewired.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antony B Morland
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK; York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, York, UK.
| | - Holly D H Brown
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK; York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, York, UK
| | - Heidi A Baseler
- York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, York, UK; Hull-York Medical School, York, UK
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32
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Differential Circuit Mechanisms of Young and Aged Visual Cortex in the Mammalian Brain. NEUROSCI 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/neurosci2010001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The main goal of this review is to summarize and discuss (1) age-dependent structural reorganization of mammalian visual cortical circuits underlying complex visual behavior functions in primary visual cortex (V1) and multiple extrastriate visual areas, and (2) current evidence supporting the notion of compensatory mechanisms in aged visual circuits as well as the use of rehabilitative therapy for the recovery of neural plasticity in normal and diseased aging visual circuit mechanisms in different species. It is well known that aging significantly modulates both the structural and physiological properties of visual cortical neurons in V1 and other visual cortical areas in various species. Compensatory aged neural mechanisms correlate with the complexity of visual functions; however, they do not always result in major circuit alterations resulting in age-dependent decline in performance of a visual task or neurodegenerative disorders. Computational load and neural processing gradually increase with age, and the complexity of compensatory mechanisms correlates with the intricacy of higher form visual perceptions that are more evident in higher-order visual areas. It is particularly interesting to note that the visual perceptual processing of certain visual behavior functions does not change with age. This review aims to comprehensively discuss the effect of normal aging on neuroanatomical alterations that underlie critical visual functions and more importantly to highlight differences between compensatory mechanisms in aged neural circuits and neural processes related to visual disorders. This type of approach will further enhance our understanding of inter-areal and cortico-cortical connectivity of visual circuits in normal aging and identify major circuit alterations that occur in different visual deficits, thus facilitating the design and evaluation of potential rehabilitation therapies as well as the assessment of the extent of their rejuvenation.
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33
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Likova LT, Mineff KN, Tyler CW. Multipurpose Spatiomotor Capture System for Haptic and Visual Training and Testing in the Blind and Sighted. IS&T INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON ELECTRONIC IMAGING 2021; 33:160. [PMID: 35359581 PMCID: PMC8966903 DOI: 10.2352/issn.2470-1173.2021.11.hvei-160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
We describe the development of a multipurpose haptic stimulus delivery and spatiomotor recording system with tactile map-overlays for electronic processing This innovative multipurpose spatiomotor capture system will serve a wide range of functions in the training and behavioral assessment of spatial memory and precise motor control for blindness rehabilitation, both for STEM learning and for navigation training and map reading. Capacitive coupling through the map-overlays to the touch-tablet screen below them allows precise recording i) of hand movements during haptic exploration of tactile raised-line images on one tablet and ii) of line-drawing trajectories on the other, for analysis of navigational errors, speed, time elapsed, etc. Thus, this system will provide for the first time in an integrated and automated manner quantitative assessments of the whole 'perception-cognition-action' loop - from non-visual exploration strategies, spatial memory, precise spatiomotor control and coordination, drawing performance, and navigation capabilities, as well as of haptic and movement planning and control. The accuracy of memory encoding, in particular, can be assessed by the memory-drawing operation of the capture system. Importantly, this system allows for both remote and in-person operation. Although the focus is on visually impaired populations, the system is designed to equally serve training and assessments in the normally sighted as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lora T Likova
- Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, San Francisco, Ca, USA
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34
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Matuszewski J, Kossowski B, Bola Ł, Banaszkiewicz A, Paplińska M, Gyger L, Kherif F, Szwed M, Frackowiak RS, Jednoróg K, Draganski B, Marchewka A. Brain plasticity dynamics during tactile Braille learning in sighted subjects: Multi-contrast MRI approach. Neuroimage 2020; 227:117613. [PMID: 33307223 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Revised: 11/20/2020] [Accepted: 11/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
A growing body of empirical evidence supports the notion of diverse neurobiological processes underlying learning-induced plasticity changes in the human brain. There are still open questions about how brain plasticity depends on cognitive task complexity, how it supports interactions between brain systems and with what temporal and spatial trajectory. We investigated brain and behavioural changes in sighted adults during 8-months training of tactile Braille reading whilst monitoring brain structure and function at 5 different time points. We adopted a novel multivariate approach that includes behavioural data and specific MRI protocols sensitive to tissue properties to assess local functional and structural and myelin changes over time. Our results show that while the reading network, located in the ventral occipitotemporal cortex, rapidly adapts to tactile input, sensory areas show changes in grey matter volume and intra-cortical myelin at different times. This approach has allowed us to examine and describe neuroplastic mechanisms underlying complex cognitive systems and their (sensory) inputs and (motor) outputs differentially, at a mesoscopic level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacek Matuszewski
- Laboratory of Brain Imaging, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Bartosz Kossowski
- Laboratory of Brain Imaging, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Łukasz Bola
- Laboratory of Brain Imaging, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland; Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Anna Banaszkiewicz
- Laboratory of Brain Imaging, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | | | - Lucien Gyger
- LREN, Department for Clinical Neurosciences, CHUV, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ferath Kherif
- LREN, Department for Clinical Neurosciences, CHUV, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Marcin Szwed
- Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | | | - Katarzyna Jednoróg
- Laboratory of Language Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Bogdan Draganski
- LREN, Department for Clinical Neurosciences, CHUV, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Artur Marchewka
- Laboratory of Brain Imaging, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
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35
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V1 Projection Zone Signals in Human Macular Degeneration Depend on Task Despite Absence of Visual Stimulus. Curr Biol 2020; 31:406-412.e3. [PMID: 33157025 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.10.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Revised: 09/12/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Identifying the plastic and stable components of the visual cortex after retinal loss is an important topic in visual neuroscience and neuro-ophthalmology.1-5 Humans with juvenile macular degeneration (JMD) show significant blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) responses in the primary visual area (V1) lesion projection zone (LPZ),6 despite the absence of the feedforward signals from the degenerated retina. Our previous study7 reported that V1 LPZ responds to full-field visual stimuli during the one-back task (OBT), not during passive viewing, suggesting the involvement of task-related feedback signals. Aiming to clarify whether visual inputs to the intact retina are necessary for the LPZ responses, here, we measured BOLD responses to tactile and auditory stimuli for both JMD patients and control participants with and without OBT. Participants were instructed to close their eyes during the experiment for the purpose of eliminating retinal inputs. Without OBT, no V1 responses were detected in both groups of participants. With OBT, to the contrary, both stimuli caused substantial V1 responses in JMD patients, but not controls. Furthermore, we also found that the task-dependent activity in V1 LPZ became less pronounced when JMD patients opened their eyes, suggesting that task-related feedback signals can be partially suppressed by residual feedforward signals. Modality-independent V1 LPZ responses only in the task condition suggest that V1 LPZ responses reflect task-related feedback signals rather than reorganized feedforward visual inputs.
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36
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Baroncelli L, Lunghi C. Neuroplasticity of the visual cortex: in sickness and in health. Exp Neurol 2020; 335:113515. [PMID: 33132181 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2020.113515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Revised: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Brain plasticity refers to the ability of synaptic connections to adapt their function and structure in response to experience, including environmental changes, sensory deprivation and injuries. Plasticity is a distinctive, but not exclusive, property of the developing nervous system. This review introduces the concept of neuroplasticity and describes classic paradigms to illustrate cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying synapse modifiability. Then, we summarize a growing number of studies showing that the adult cerebral cortex retains a significant degree of plasticity highlighting how the identification of strategies to enhance the plastic potential of the adult brain could pave the way for the development of novel therapeutic approaches aimed at treating amblyopia and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Finally, we analyze how the visual system adjusts to neurodegenerative conditions leading to blindness and we discuss the crucial role of spared plasticity in the visual system for sight recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Baroncelli
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council (CNR), I-56124 Pisa, Italy; Department of Developmental Neuroscience, IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, I-56128 Pisa, Italy.
| | - Claudia Lunghi
- Laboratoire des systèmes perceptifs, Département d'études cognitives, École normale supérieure, PSL University, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France
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37
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Petrus E, Dembling S, Usdin T, Isaac JTR, Koretsky AP. Circuit-Specific Plasticity of Callosal Inputs Underlies Cortical Takeover. J Neurosci 2020; 40:7714-7723. [PMID: 32913109 PMCID: PMC7531555 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1056-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Revised: 06/13/2020] [Accepted: 08/21/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Injury induces synaptic, circuit, and systems reorganization. After unilateral amputation or stroke, this functional loss disrupts the interhemispheric interaction between intact and deprived somatomotor cortices to recruit deprived cortex in response to intact limb stimulation. This recruitment has been implicated in enhanced intact sensory function. In other patients, maladaptive consequences such as phantom limb pain can occur. We used unilateral whisker denervation in male and female mice to detect circuitry alterations underlying interhemispheric cortical reorganization. Enhanced synaptic strength from the intact cortex via the corpus callosum (CC) onto deep neurons in deprived primary somatosensory barrel cortex (S1BC) has previously been detected. It was hypothesized that specificity in this plasticity may depend on to which area these neurons projected. Increased connectivity to somatomotor areas such as contralateral S1BC, primary motor cortex (M1) and secondary somatosensory cortex (S2) may underlie beneficial adaptations, while increased connectivity to pain areas like anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) might underlie maladaptive pain phenotypes. Neurons from the deprived S1BC that project to intact S1BC were hyperexcitable, had stronger responses and reduced inhibitory input to CC stimulation. M1-projecting neurons also showed increases in excitability and CC input strength that was offset with enhanced inhibition. S2 and ACC-projecting neurons showed no changes in excitability or CC input. These results demonstrate that subgroups of output neurons undergo dramatic and specific plasticity after peripheral injury. The changes in S1BC-projecting neurons likely underlie enhanced reciprocal connectivity of S1BC after unilateral deprivation consistent with the model that interhemispheric takeover supports intact whisker processing.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Amputation, peripheral injury, and stroke patients experience widespread alterations in neural activity after sensory loss. A hallmark of this reorganization is the recruitment of deprived cortical space which likely aids processing and thus enhances performance on intact sensory systems. Conversely, this recruitment of deprived cortical space has been hypothesized to underlie phenotypes like phantom limb pain and hinder recovery. A mouse model of unilateral denervation detected remarkable specificity in alterations in the somatomotor circuit. These changes underlie increased reciprocal connectivity between intact and deprived cortical hemispheres. This increased connectivity may help explain the enhanced intact sensory processing detected in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Petrus
- Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892
| | - Sarah Dembling
- Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892
| | - Ted Usdin
- Systems Neuroscience Imaging Resource, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892
| | - John T R Isaac
- Janssen Neuroscience, J&J Innovations, London W1G 0BG, United Kingdom
| | - Alan P Koretsky
- Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892
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38
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Gaze direction influences grasping actions towards unseen, haptically explored, objects. Sci Rep 2020; 10:15774. [PMID: 32978418 PMCID: PMC7519081 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-72554-x] [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: 05/04/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Haptic exploration produces mental object representations that can be memorized for subsequent object-directed behaviour. Storage of haptically-acquired object images (HOIs), engages, besides canonical somatosensory areas, the early visual cortex (EVC). Clear evidence for a causal contribution of EVC to HOI representation is still lacking. The use of visual information by the grasping system undergoes necessarily a frame of reference shift by integrating eye-position. We hypothesize that if the motor system uses HOIs stored in a retinotopic coding in the visual cortex, then its use is likely to depend at least in part on eye position. We measured the kinematics of 4 fingers in the right hand of 15 healthy participants during the task of grasping different unseen objects behind an opaque panel, that had been previously explored haptically. The participants never saw the object and operated exclusively based on haptic information. The position of the object was fixed, in front of the participant, but the subject’s gaze varied from trial to trial between 3 possible positions, towards the unseen object or away from it, on either side. Results showed that the middle and little fingers’ kinematics during reaching for the unseen object changed significantly according to gaze position. In a control experiment we showed that intransitive hand movements were not modulated by gaze direction. Manipulating eye-position produces small but significant configuration errors, (behavioural errors due to shifts in frame of reference) possibly related to an eye-centered frame of reference, despite the absence of visual information, indicating sharing of resources between the haptic and the visual/oculomotor system to delayed haptic grasping.
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39
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Rinaldi L, Ciricugno A, Merabet LB, Vecchi T, Cattaneo Z. The Effect of Blindness on Spatial Asymmetries. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10100662. [PMID: 32977398 PMCID: PMC7597958 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10100662] [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: 08/02/2020] [Revised: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The human cerebral cortex is asymmetrically organized with hemispheric lateralization pervading nearly all neural systems of the brain. Whether the lack of normal visual development affects hemispheric specialization subserving the deployment of visuospatial attention asymmetries is controversial. In principle, indeed, the lack of early visual experience may affect the lateralization of spatial functions, and the blind may rely on a different sensory input compared to the sighted. In this review article, we thus present a current state-of-the-art synthesis of empirical evidence concerning the effects of visual deprivation on the lateralization of various spatial processes (i.e., including line bisection, mirror symmetry, and localization tasks). Overall, the evidence reviewed indicates that spatial processes are supported by a right hemispheric network in the blind, hence, analogously to the sighted. Such a right-hemisphere dominance, however, seems more accentuated in the blind as compared to the sighted as indexed by the greater leftward bias shown in different spatial tasks. This is possibly the result of the more pronounced involvement of the right parietal cortex during spatial tasks in blind individuals compared to the sighted, as well as of the additional recruitment of the right occipital cortex, which would reflect the cross-modal plastic phenomena that largely characterize the blind brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Rinaldi
- Department of Brain and Behavioural Science, University of Pavia, Piazza Botta 6, 27100 Pavia, Italy;
- Correspondence:
| | | | - Lotfi B. Merabet
- The Laboratory for Visual Neuroplasticity, Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA;
| | - Tomaso Vecchi
- Department of Brain and Behavioural Science, University of Pavia, Piazza Botta 6, 27100 Pavia, Italy;
- IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (A.C.); (Z.C.)
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (A.C.); (Z.C.)
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy
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40
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Léné P, Ouerfelli-Ethier J, Fournet R, Laurin AS, Gosselin F, Khan AZ. Changes in eye movement parameters in the presence of an artificial central scotoma. Restor Neurol Neurosci 2020; 38:203-222. [PMID: 32675431 DOI: 10.3233/rnn-190957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Central vision loss, such as in the case of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), has a a major negative impact on patients' quality of life. However, some patients have shown spontaneous adaptive strategies development, mostly relying on their peripheral vision. OBJECTIVE This study assesses eye movement and eccentric visual function adaptive behaviors of a healthy population in the presence of simulated central vision loss. We wished to determine how central vision loss affects eye movements, specifically the foveal-target alignment. METHODS Fifteen healthy participants (7 females, M = 21.69, SD = 2.13) discriminated the orientation of a Gabor relative to the vertical located at 12 deg of eccentricity to the right of fixation, in the presence of a gaze-contingent artificial central scotoma either visible or invisible. The artificial central scotoma was 4° diameter in order to simulate an earlier stage of degenerative disease while still impairing foveal vision. The target's orientation varied between 10° counter-clockwise and 10° clockwise. Each participant performed four blocks of 75 trials each per day over 10 days, the first day being a baseline without scotoma. RESULTS We found changes in the endpoints of the 1st saccade over the practice days. The most common pattern was a gradual upward shift. We also observed a significant increase in discrimination performance over the 9 days of practice. We did not find any difference linked to the scotoma types. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that the presence of an artificial central scotoma combined with a challenging discrimination task induces both changes in saccade planning mechanisms, resulting in a new eccentric-target alignment, and improvements in eccentric visual functions. This demonstrates the potential of this research paradigm to understand and potentially improve visual function in patients with central vision loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Léné
- Laboratory of Vision, Attention and Action, École d'optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Département de psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Julie Ouerfelli-Ethier
- Laboratory of Vision, Attention and Action, École d'optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Romain Fournet
- Laboratory of Vision, Attention and Action, École d'optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Anne-Sophie Laurin
- Laboratory of Vision, Attention and Action, École d'optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Frédéric Gosselin
- Département de psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche sur le cerveau et l'apprentissage, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Aarlenne Zein Khan
- Laboratory of Vision, Attention and Action, École d'optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche sur le cerveau et l'apprentissage, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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41
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Crossmodal reorganisation in deafness: Mechanisms for functional preservation and functional change. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 113:227-237. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2019] [Revised: 01/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Mowad TG, Willett AE, Mahmoudian M, Lipin M, Heinecke A, Maguire AM, Bennett J, Ashtari M. Compensatory Cross-Modal Plasticity Persists After Sight Restoration. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:291. [PMID: 32477041 PMCID: PMC7235304 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Accepted: 03/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Sensory deprivation prompts extensive structural and functional reorganizations of the cortex resulting in the occupation of space for the lost sense by the intact sensory systems. This process, known as cross-modal plasticity, has been widely studied in individuals with vision or hearing loss. However, little is known on the neuroplastic changes in restoring the deprived sense. Some reports consider the cross-modal functionality maladaptive to the return of the original sense, and others view this as a critical process in maintaining the neurons of the deprived sense active and operational. These controversial views have been challenged in both auditory and vision restoration reports for decades. Recently with the approval of Luxturna as the first retinal gene therapy (GT) drug to reverse blindness, there is a renewed interest for the crucial role of cross-modal plasticity on sight restoration. Employing a battery of task and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI), in comparison to a group of sighted controls, we tracked the functional changes in response to auditory and visual stimuli and at rest, in a group of patients with biallelic mutations in the RPE65 gene (“RPE65 patients”) before and 3 years after GT. While the sighted controls did not present any evidence for auditory cross-modal plasticity, robust responses to the auditory stimuli were found in occipital cortex of the RPE65 patients overlapping visual responses and significantly elevated 3 years after GT. The rsfMRI results showed significant connectivity between the auditory and visual areas for both groups albeit attenuated in patients at baseline but enhanced 3 years after GT. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that (1) RPE65 patients present with an auditory cross-modal component; (2) visual and non-visual responses of the visual cortex are considerably enhanced after vision restoration; and (3) auditory cross-modal functions did not adversely affect the success of vision restitution. We hypothesize that following GT, to meet the demand for the newly established retinal signals, remaining or dormant visual neurons are revived or unmasked for greater participation. These neurons or a subset of these neurons respond to both the visual and non-visual demands and further strengthen connectivity between the auditory and visual cortices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa G Mowad
- Department of Ophthalmology, Center for Advanced Retinal and Ocular Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Aimee E Willett
- The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Blacksburg, VA, United States
| | | | - Mikhail Lipin
- Department of Ophthalmology, Center for Advanced Retinal and Ocular Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Armin Heinecke
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Albert M Maguire
- Department of Ophthalmology, Center for Advanced Retinal and Ocular Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.,Department of Ophthalmology, F.M. Kirby Center for Molecular Ophthalmology, Scheie Eye Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.,Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Jean Bennett
- Department of Ophthalmology, Center for Advanced Retinal and Ocular Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.,Department of Ophthalmology, F.M. Kirby Center for Molecular Ophthalmology, Scheie Eye Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.,Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Manzar Ashtari
- Department of Ophthalmology, Center for Advanced Retinal and Ocular Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.,Department of Ophthalmology, F.M. Kirby Center for Molecular Ophthalmology, Scheie Eye Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.,Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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43
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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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Ortiz T, Ortiz-Teran L, Turrero A, Poch-Broto J, de Erausquin GA. A N400 ERP Study in letter recognition after passive tactile stimulation training in blind children and sighted controls. Restor Neurol Neurosci 2020; 37:197-206. [PMID: 31227674 DOI: 10.3233/rnn-180838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND We previously demonstrated that using a sensory substitution device (SSD) for one week, tactile stimulation results in faster activation of lateral occipital complex in blind children than in seeing controls. OBJECTIVE We used long-term haptic tactile stimulation training with an SSD to test if it results in stable cross-modal reassignment of visual pathways after six months, to provide high level processing of tactile semantic content. METHODS We enrolled 12 blind and 12 sighted children. The SSD transforms images to a stimulation matrix in contact with the dominant hand. Subjects underwent twice-daily training sessions, 5 days/week for six months. Children were asked to describe line orientation, name letters, and read words. ERP sessions were performed at baseline and 6 months to analyze the N400 ERP component and reaction times (RT). N400 sources were estimated with Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA). SPM8 was used to make population-level inferences. RESULTS We found no group differences in RTs, accuracy of identifications, N400 latencies or distributions with the line task at 1 week or at 6 months. RTs on the letter recognition task were also similar. After 6 months, behavioral training increased accurate letter identification in both seeing and blind children (Chi 2 = 11906.934, p = 0.000), but the increase was larger in blind children (Chi 2 = 8.272, p = 0.004). Behavioral training shifted peak N400 amplitude to left occipital and bilateral parietal cortices in blind children, but to left precentral and postcentral and bilateral occipital cortices in sighted controls. CONCLUSIONS Blind children learn to recognize SSD-delivered letters better than seeing controls and had greater N400 amplitude in the occipital region. To the best of our knowledge, our results provide the first published example of standard letter recognition (not Braille) by children with blindness using a tactile delivery system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomas Ortiz
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
| | - Laura Ortiz-Teran
- Department of Radiology, Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard University, Boston, USA
| | - Agustin Turrero
- Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
| | - Joaquin Poch-Broto
- Department of Ear, Nose and Throat, Hospital Clínico Universitario San Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Gabriel A de Erausquin
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, Harlingen, USA
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Torre K, Vergotte G, Viel É, Perrey S, Dupeyron A. Fractal properties in sensorimotor variability unveil internal adaptations of the organism before symptomatic functional decline. Sci Rep 2019; 9:15736. [PMID: 31673034 PMCID: PMC6823488 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-52091-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2019] [Accepted: 09/28/2019] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
If health can be defined as adaptability, then measures of adaptability are crucial. Convergent findings across clinical areas established the notion that fractal properties in bio-behavioural variability characterize the healthy condition of the organism, and its adaptive capacities in general. However, ambiguities remain as to the significance of fractal properties: the literature mainly discriminated between healthy vs. pathological states, thereby loosing perspective on the progression in between, and overlooking the distinction between adaptability and effective adaptations of the organism. Here, we design an experimental tapping paradigm involving gradual feedback deprivation in groups of healthy subjects and one deafferented man as a pathological-limit case. We show that distinct types of fractal properties in sensorimotor behaviour characterize, on the one hand impaired functional ability, and on the other hand internal adaptations for maintaining performance despite the imposed constraints. Findings may prove promising for early detection of internal adaptations preceding symptomatic functional decline.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Arnaud Dupeyron
- EuroMov, Univ. Montpellier, Montpellier, France.,CHU Carémeau, Nîmes, France
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46
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Naturalistic Audio-Movies and Narrative Synchronize "Visual" Cortices across Congenitally Blind But Not Sighted Individuals. J Neurosci 2019; 39:8940-8948. [PMID: 31548238 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0298-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2019] [Revised: 08/26/2019] [Accepted: 08/27/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
How does developmental experience, as opposed to intrinsic physiology, shape cortical function? Naturalistic stimuli were used to elicit neural synchrony in individuals blind from birth (n = 18) and those who grew up with sight (n = 18). Blind and blindfolded sighted participants passively listened to three audio-movie clips, an auditory narrative, a sentence shuffled version of the narrative (maintaining language but lacking a plotline), and a version of the narrative backward (lacking both language and plot). For both groups, early auditory cortices were synchronized to a similar degree across stimulus types, whereas higher-cognitive temporoparietal and prefrontal areas were more synchronized by meaningful, temporally extended stimuli (i.e., audio movies and narrative). "Visual" cortices were more synchronized across blind than sighted individuals, but only for audio-movies and narrative. In the blind group, visual cortex synchrony was low for backward speech and intermediate for sentence shuffle. Meaningful auditory stimuli synchronize visual cortices of people born blind.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Naturalistic stimuli engage cognitive processing at many levels. Here, we harnessed this richness to investigate the effect of experience on cortical function. We find that listening to naturalistic audio movies and narrative drives synchronized activity across "visual" cortices of blind, more so than sighted, individuals. Visual cortex synchronization varies with meaningfulness and cognitive complexity. Higher synchrony is observed for temporally extended meaningful stimuli (e.g., movies/narrative), intermediate for shuffled sentences, lowest for time varying complex noise. By contrast, auditory cortex was synchronized equally by meaningful and meaningless stimuli. In congenitally blind individuals most of visual cortex is engaged by meaningful naturalistic stimuli.
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47
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Abstract
A previous study from our lab demonstrated retention of high tactile acuity throughout the lifespan in blind subjects in contrast to the typical decline found for sighted subjects (Legge, Madison, Vaughn, Cheong & Miller, Percept Psychophys, 70 (8), 1471-1488, 2008). We hypothesize that preserved tactile acuity in old age is due to lifelong experience with focused attention to touch and not to blindness per se. Proficient pianists devote attention to touch - fingerings and dynamics - over years of practice. To test our hypothesis, we measured tactile acuity in groups of ten young (mean age 24.5 years) and 11 old (mean age 64.7 years) normally sighted pianists and compared their results to the blind and sighted subjects in our 2008 study. The pianists, like the subjects in 2008, were tested on two tactile-acuity charts requiring active touch, one composed of embossed Landolt rings and the other composed of dot patterns similar to braille. For both tests, the pianists performed more like the blind subjects than the sighted subjects from our 2008 study. For the ring chart, there was no significant difference in tactile acuity between the young and old pianists and no significant difference between the pianists and the blind subjects. For the dot chart, the pianists showed an age-related decline in tactile acuity, but not as severe as the sighted subjects from 2008. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that lifelong experience with focused attention to touch acts to preserve tactile acuity into old age for both blind and sighted subjects.
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48
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Bola Ł, Matuszewski J, Szczepanik M, Droździel D, Sliwinska MW, Paplińska M, Jednoróg K, Szwed M, Marchewka A. Functional hierarchy for tactile processing in the visual cortex of sighted adults. Neuroimage 2019; 202:116084. [PMID: 31400530 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2019] [Revised: 07/07/2019] [Accepted: 08/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Perception via different sensory modalities was traditionally believed to be supported by largely separate brain systems. However, a growing number of studies demonstrate that the visual cortices of typical, sighted adults are involved in tactile and auditory perceptual processing. Here, we investigated the spatiotemporal dynamics of the visual cortex's involvement in a complex tactile task: Braille letter recognition. Sighted subjects underwent Braille training and then participated in a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) study in which they tactually identified single Braille letters. During this task, TMS was applied to their left early visual cortex, visual word form area (VWFA), and left early somatosensory cortex at five time windows from 20 to 520 ms following the Braille letter presentation's onset. The subjects' response accuracy decreased when TMS was applied to the early visual cortex at the 120-220 ms time window and when TMS was applied to the VWFA at the 320-420 ms time window. Stimulation of the early somatosensory cortex did not have a time-specific effect on the accuracy of the subjects' Braille letter recognition, but rather caused a general slowdown during this task. Our results indicate that the involvement of sighted people's visual cortices in tactile perception respects the canonical visual hierarchy-the early tactile processing stages involve the early visual cortex, whereas more advanced tactile computations involve high-level visual areas. Our findings are compatible with the metamodal account of brain organization and suggest that the whole visual cortex may potentially support spatial perception in a task-specific, sensory-independent manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Łukasz Bola
- Laboratory of Brain Imaging, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 3 Pasteura Street, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland; Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, 6 Ingardena Street, 30-060, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Jacek Matuszewski
- Laboratory of Brain Imaging, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 3 Pasteura Street, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Michał Szczepanik
- Laboratory of Brain Imaging, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 3 Pasteura Street, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Dawid Droździel
- Laboratory of Brain Imaging, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 3 Pasteura Street, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland
| | | | - Małgorzata Paplińska
- The Maria Grzegorzewska University, 40 Szczęśliwicka Street, 02-353, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Jednoróg
- Laboratory of Language Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 3 Pasteura Street, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Marcin Szwed
- Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, 6 Ingardena Street, 30-060, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Artur Marchewka
- Laboratory of Brain Imaging, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 3 Pasteura Street, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland.
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Mobbs D, Adolphs R, Fanselow MS, Barrett LF, LeDoux JE, Ressler K, Tye KM. Viewpoints: Approaches to defining and investigating fear. Nat Neurosci 2019; 22:1205-1216. [PMID: 31332374 PMCID: PMC6943931 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-019-0456-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
There is disagreement on how best to define and investigate fear. Nature Neuroscience asked Dean Mobbs to lead experts from the fields of human and animal affective neuroscience to discuss their viewpoints on how to define fear and how to move forward with the study of fear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dean Mobbs
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and Computation and Neural Systems Program, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA.
| | - Ralph Adolphs
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and Computation and Neural Systems Program, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Michael S Fanselow
- Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Lisa Feldman Barrett
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging and Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Joseph E LeDoux
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- Nathan Kline Institute, New York State Office of Mental Health, New York, New York, USA
- Departments of Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Medical School, New York, New York, USA
| | - Kerry Ressler
- Division of Depression & Anxiety Disorders, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Kay M Tye
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California, USA
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50
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Zhang D, Gao Z, Liang B, Li J, Cai Y, Wang Z, Gao M, Jiao B, Huang R, Liu M. Eyes Closed Elevates Brain Intrinsic Activity of Sensory Dominance Networks: A Classifier Discrimination Analysis. Brain Connect 2019; 9:221-230. [DOI: 10.1089/brain.2018.0644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Delong Zhang
- Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhenni Gao
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Bishan Liang
- Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Junchao Li
- Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuxuan Cai
- Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zengjian Wang
- Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Mengxia Gao
- The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Bingqing Jiao
- Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ruiwang Huang
- Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ming Liu
- Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
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