Visual Cortex Activity in Early and Late Blind People

Burton, Harold

doi:10.1523/jneurosci.23-10-04005.2003

Cited by 196 publications

(188 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…Based on the present findings, we conclude that the left-lateralized occipital activity during verbal tasks reflects language processing (25,35,41). However, prior studies have shown that regions of the occipital cortex in blind individuals also contribute to multiple nonverbal tasks, such as tactile discrimination and sound localization (42,43).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

“…In addition to classic language regions, individuals who have been blind from birth activate visual cortices during verbal tasks, such as Braille reading and verb generation (21)(22)(23)(24). This occipital activity occurs in secondary and early visual areas, including the pericalcarine cortex (the anatomical location of the primary visual cortex V1) (25,26). Disruption of occipital regions in congenitally blind individuals, by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) or lesions, impairs Braille reading and verb generation (27)(28)(29)(30).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Language processing in the occipital cortex of congenitally blind adults

Bedny

Pascual‐Leone

Dodell-Feder

et al. 2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

359

392

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Humans are thought to have evolved brain regions in the left frontal and temporal cortex that are uniquely capable of language processing. However, congenitally blind individuals also activate the visual cortex in some verbal tasks. We provide evidence that this visual cortex activity in fact reflects language processing. We find that in congenitally blind individuals, the left visual cortex behaves similarly to classic language regions: (i) BOLD signal is higher during sentence comprehension than during linguistically degraded control conditions that are more difficult; (ii) BOLD signal is modulated by phonological information, lexical semantic information, and sentence-level combinatorial structure; and (iii) functional connectivity with language regions in the left prefrontal cortex and thalamus are increased relative to sighted individuals. We conclude that brain regions that are thought to have evolved for vision can take on language processing as a result of early experience. Innate microcircuit properties are not necessary for a brain region to become involved in language processing.plasticity | language evolution

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Language processing in the occipital cortex of congenitally blind adults

Bedny

Pascual‐Leone

Dodell-Feder

et al. 2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

359

392

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Intrahemispheric pattern rather than hemispheric side seems to be a hard-wired pattern of brain organization, at least in healthy individuals (see examples of cross-modal plasticity in chronic deafferentation, review in Burton, 2003).…”

Section: Theories On Cerebral Lateralizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atypical Hemispheric Dominance for Attention: Functional MRI Topography

Flöel

Jansen

Deppe

et al. 2005

J Cereb Blood Flow Metab

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The right hemisphere is predominantly involved in tasks associated with spatial attention. However, left hemispheric dominance for spatial attention can be found in healthy individuals, and both spatial attention and language can be lateralized to the same hemisphere. Little is known about the underlying regional distribution of neural activation in these 'atypical' individuals. Previously a large number of healthy subjects were screened for hemispheric dominance of visuospatial attention and language, using functional Doppler ultrasonography. From this group, subjects were chosen who were 'atypical' for hemispheric dominance of visuospatial attention and language, and their pattern of brain activation was studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging during a task probing spatial attention. Right-handed subjects with the 'typical' pattern of brain organization served as control subjects. It was found that subjects with an inverted lateralization of language and spatial attention (language right, attention left) recruited left-hemispheric areas in the attention task, homotopic to those recruited by control subjects in the right hemisphere. Subjects with lateralization of both language and attention to the right hemisphere activated an attentional network in the right hemisphere that was comparable to control subjects. The present findings suggest that not the hemispheric side, but the intrahemispheric pattern of activation is the distinct feature for the neural processes underlying language and attention.

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“…The paper by Burton (2003) on the cortical reorganization associated with blindness provides a dramatic example of the adaptability of the brain to sensory deprivation. Simply put, the visual cortex, despite being deprived of visual input, does not become permanently dormant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional Brain Imaging and Human Brain Function

Raichle

2003

J. Neurosci.

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Visual Cortex Activity in Early and Late Blind People

Cited by 196 publications

References 83 publications

Language processing in the occipital cortex of congenitally blind adults

Language processing in the occipital cortex of congenitally blind adults

Atypical Hemispheric Dominance for Attention: Functional MRI Topography

Functional Brain Imaging and Human Brain Function

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