A positron emission tomography study during auditory localization by late-onset blind individuals.
Individuals deprived of vision early in life often demonstrate exceptional abilities in their remaining sensory modalities in order to compensate for their handicap. Recent studies have shown that some of these abilities also extend to those who have lost their sight later in life. It is not clear, however, what mechanisms underlie these abilities. Here, we examined cortical activation using positron emission tomography in late-onset blind participants during a free-field auditory localization task. Even though no behavioral enhancements were observed in this testing condition relative to sighted controls, the results revealed that the occipital cortex was nonetheless activated during task execution. We conclude that late-onset blind individuals do manifest cerebral reorganization, although its functional relevance to the task is less clear.
Voss
Patrice
P
Research Center in Neuropsychology and Cognition, University of Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Gougoux
Frédéric
F
Lassonde
Maryse
M
Zatorre
Robert J
RJ
Lepore
Franco
F
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D001766:Blindness / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D013017:Sound Localization / Q000502:physiology*; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*