title: Spatial variability of functional brain networks in early-blind and sighted subjects.
abstract: To further the understanding how the human brain adapts to early-onset blindness, we searched in early-blind and normally-sighted subjects for functional brain networks showing the most and least spatial variabilities across subjects. We hypothesized that the functional networks compensating for early-onset blindness undergo cortical reorganization. To determine whether reorganization of functional networks affects spatial variability, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to compare brain networks, derived by independent component analysis, of 7 early-blind and 7 sighted subjects while they rested or listened to an audio drama. In both conditions, the blind compared with sighted subjects showed more spatial variability in a bilateral parietal network (comprising the inferior parietal and angular gyri and precuneus) and in a bilateral auditory network (comprising the superior temporal gyri). In contrast, a vision-related left-hemisphere-lateralized occipital network (comprising the superior, middle and inferior occipital gyri, fusiform and lingual gyri, and the calcarine sulcus) was less variable in blind than sighted subjects. Another visual network and a tactile network were spatially more variable in the blind than sighted subjects in one condition. We contemplate whether our results on inter-subject spatial variability of brain networks are related to experience-dependent brain plasticity, and we suggest that auditory and parietal networks undergo a stronger experience-dependent reorganization in the early-blind than sighted subjects while the opposite is true for the vision-related occipital network.
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Unit, O.V. Lounasmaa Laboratory, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland; Neuroscience Unit, Institute of Biomedicine/Physiology, University of Helsinki, Finland; Advanced Magnetic Imaging Centre, Aalto NeuroImaging, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland. Electronic address: robert.boldt@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Boldt
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Unit, O.V. Lounasmaa Laboratory, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland.
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seppä
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Unit, O.V. Lounasmaa Laboratory, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland.
authors.forename: Sanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Malinen
authors.affiliation: Department of Film, Television and Scenography, School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Aalto University, Finland.
authors.forename: Pia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tikka
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Unit, O.V. Lounasmaa Laboratory, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland.
authors.forename: Riitta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hari
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Unit, O.V. Lounasmaa Laboratory, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland; Neuroscience Unit, Institute of Biomedicine/Physiology, University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Synnöve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carlson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001766:Blindness / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Auditory cortex; Blindness; Independent component analysis; Plasticity; Visual cortex; fMRI