title: Integration and binding in rehabilitative sensory substitution: Increasing resolution using a new Zooming-in approach.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To visually perceive our surroundings we constantly move our eyes and focus on particular details, and then integrate them into a combined whole. Current visual rehabilitation methods, both invasive, like bionic-eyes and non-invasive, like Sensory Substitution Devices (SSDs), down-sample visual stimuli into low-resolution images. Zooming-in to sub-parts of the scene could potentially improve detail perception. Can congenitally blind individuals integrate a 'visual' scene when offered this information via different sensory modalities, such as audition? Can they integrate visual information -perceived in parts - into larger percepts despite never having had any visual experience?
  
  
  METHODS
  We explored these questions using a zooming-in functionality embedded in the EyeMusic visual-to-auditory SSD. Eight blind participants were tasked with identifying cartoon faces by integrating their individual components recognized via the EyeMusic's zooming mechanism.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After specialized training of just 6-10 hours, blind participants successfully and actively integrated facial features into cartooned identities in 79±18% of the trials in a highly significant manner, (chance level 10% ; rank-sum P <  1.55E-04).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings show that even users who lacked any previous visual experience whatsoever can indeed integrate this visual information with increased resolution. This potentially has important practical visual rehabilitation implications for both invasive and non-invasive methods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Science, Faculty of Humanities, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hadassah Ein-Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel.|The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Research, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Hadassah Ein-Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Galit
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Buchs
authors.affiliation: The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Research, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Hadassah Ein-Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel.|Department of Medical Neurobiology, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hadassah Ein-Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Shachar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maidenbaum
authors.affiliation: Recanati School for Community Health Professions, Department of Physical Therapy, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.|Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Shelly
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Levy-Tzedek
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Science, Faculty of Humanities, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hadassah Ein-Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel.|The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Research, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Hadassah Ein-Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel.|Department of Medical Neurobiology, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hadassah Ein-Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel.|Sorbonne Universités UPMC Univ Paris 06, Institut de la Vision Paris, France.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amedi
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D001766:Blindness / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D014584:User-Computer Interface
keywords: Sensory substitution; action-perception; active sensing; motor control; vision rehabilitation