title: Increased functional connectivity between language and visually deprived areas in late and partial blindness.
abstract: In the congenitally blind, language processing involves visual areas. In the case of normal visual development however, it remains unclear whether later visual loss induces interactions between the language and visual areas. This study compared the resting-state functional connectivity (FC) of retinotopic and language areas in two unique groups of late visually deprived subjects: (1) blind individuals suffering from retinitis pigmentosa (RP), (2) RP subjects without a visual periphery but with preserved central "tunnel vision", both of whom were contrasted with sighted controls. The results showed increased FC between Broca's area and the visually deprived areas in the peripheral V1 for individuals with tunnel vision, and both the peripheral and central V1 for blind individuals. These findings suggest that FC can develop in the adult brain between the visual and language systems in the completely and partially blind. These changes start in the deprived areas and increase in size (involving both foveal and peripheral V1) and strength (from negative to positive FC) as the disease and sensory deprivation progress. These observations support the claim that functional connectivity between remote systems that perform completely different tasks can change in the adult brain in cases of total and even partial visual deprivation.
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06, UMR S968, Institut de la Vision, Paris, F-75012, France; INSERM, U968, Institut de la Vision, Paris F-75012, France; CNRS, UMR 7210, Institut de la Vision, Paris F-75012, France; Centre d'investigation clinique, Centre Hospitalier National d'Ophtalmologie des Quinze-Vingts, INSERM-DHOS CIC 1423, Paris F-75012, France. Electronic address: norman.sabbah@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Norman
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sabbah
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06, UMR S968, Institut de la Vision, Paris, F-75012, France; INSERM, U968, Institut de la Vision, Paris F-75012, France; CNRS, UMR 7210, Institut de la Vision, Paris F-75012, France; Centre d'investigation clinique, Centre Hospitalier National d'Ophtalmologie des Quinze-Vingts, INSERM-DHOS CIC 1423, Paris F-75012, France.
authors.forename: Colas N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Authié
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06, UMR S968, Institut de la Vision, Paris, F-75012, France; INSERM, U968, Institut de la Vision, Paris F-75012, France; CNRS, UMR 7210, Institut de la Vision, Paris F-75012, France; Centre d'investigation clinique, Centre Hospitalier National d'Ophtalmologie des Quinze-Vingts, INSERM-DHOS CIC 1423, Paris F-75012, France.
authors.forename: Nicolae
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sanda
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06, UMR S968, Institut de la Vision, Paris, F-75012, France; INSERM, U968, Institut de la Vision, Paris F-75012, France; CNRS, UMR 7210, Institut de la Vision, Paris F-75012, France; Centre d'investigation clinique, Centre Hospitalier National d'Ophtalmologie des Quinze-Vingts, INSERM-DHOS CIC 1423, Paris F-75012, France.
authors.forename: Saddek
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohand-Saïd
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06, UMR S968, Institut de la Vision, Paris, F-75012, France; INSERM, U968, Institut de la Vision, Paris F-75012, France; CNRS, UMR 7210, Institut de la Vision, Paris F-75012, France; Centre d'investigation clinique, Centre Hospitalier National d'Ophtalmologie des Quinze-Vingts, INSERM-DHOS CIC 1423, Paris F-75012, France; Institute of Ophthalmology, University College of London, United Kingdom; Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de Rothschild, Paris, France.
authors.forename: José-Alain
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Sahel
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06, UMR S968, Institut de la Vision, Paris, F-75012, France; INSERM, U968, Institut de la Vision, Paris F-75012, France; CNRS, UMR 7210, Institut de la Vision, Paris F-75012, France; Centre d'investigation clinique, Centre Hospitalier National d'Ophtalmologie des Quinze-Vingts, INSERM-DHOS CIC 1423, Paris F-75012, France; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Geneva University School of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Avinoam B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Safran
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06, UMR S968, Institut de la Vision, Paris, F-75012, France; INSERM, U968, Institut de la Vision, Paris F-75012, France; CNRS, UMR 7210, Institut de la Vision, Paris F-75012, France; Centre de neuroimagerie, Centre Hospitalier National d'Ophtalmologie des Quinze-Vingts, Paris F-75012, France.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Habas
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06, UMR S968, Institut de la Vision, Paris, F-75012, France; INSERM, U968, Institut de la Vision, Paris F-75012, France; CNRS, UMR 7210, Institut de la Vision, Paris F-75012, France; Department of Medical Neurobiology, The Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91220, Israel; The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91220, Israel; The Cognitive Science Program, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91220, Israel. Electronic address: amira@ekmd.huji.ac.il.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amedi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001766:Blindness / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D065711:Broca Area / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D012174:Retinitis Pigmentosa / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012683:Sensory Deprivation; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014794:Visual Fields
keywords: Adult brain plasticity; Brain connectivity; Cerebral reorganization; Critical periods; Language; Resting-state fMRI; Retinitis pigmentosa; Vision