Blindness and Human Brain Plasticity

Fine, Ione; Park, Ji-Min

doi:10.1146/annurev-vision-102016-061241

Cited by 55 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 137 publications

(178 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Sensory loss is thought to alter both functional neural connectivity and morphology within primary sensory-related areas due to the resulting deprivation of input (Frasnelli et al, 2011). Most evidence of sensory loss-related neuroplasticity originates from the visual and auditory systems where significant effects are demonstrated in primary sensory processing areas (Fine and Park, 2018;Röder and Rösler, 2004). Studies assessing impact on primary olfactory cortex (piriform cortex) due to loss of the sense of smell (anosmia) have, in contrast, reported either minor (Frasnelli et al, 2013;Karstensen et al, 2018;Peng et al, 2013;Reichert and Schöpf, 2018) or indiscernible functional or morphological changes (Han et al, 2018(Han et al, , 2017Peter et al, 2021Peter et al, , 2020Yao et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acquired olfactory loss alters functional connectivity and morphology

Iravani

Peter

Arshamian

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Removing function from a developed and functional sensory system is known to alter both cerebral morphology and functional connections. To date, a majority of studies assessing sensory-dependent plasticity have focused on effects from either early onset or long-term sensory loss and little is known how the recent sensory loss affects the human brain. With the aim of determining how recent sensory loss affects cerebral morphology and functional connectivity, we assessed differences between individuals with acquired olfactory loss (duration 7-36 months, n=20) and matched healthy controls (n=23) in their grey matter volume, using multivariate pattern analyses, and functional connectivity, using dynamic connectivity analyses, within and from the olfactory cortex. Our results demonstrate that acquired olfactory loss alters grey matter volume in, among others, posterior piriform cortex, a core olfactory processing area, as well as the inferior frontal gyrus and angular gyrus. In addition, compared to controls, individuals with acquired anosmia displayed significantly stronger dynamic functional connectivity from the posterior piriform cortex to, among others, the angular gyrus, a known multisensory integration area. No significantly stronger connectivity in healthy control participants were demonstrated. When assessing differences in dynamic functional connectivity from the angular gyrus, individuals with acquired anosmia had stronger connectivity from the angular gyrus to areas primary responsible for basic visual and taste processing. These results demonstrate that recently acquired sensory loss alters both cerebral morphology within core olfactory areas and increase dynamic functional connectivity from olfactory cortex to cerebral areas processing multisensory integration.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acquired olfactory loss alters functional connectivity and morphology

Iravani

Peter

Arshamian

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This process, known as amodality ( Heimler et al, 2015 ; Chebat et al, 2018b ) enables the recruitment of brain areas in a task specific, sensory independent fashion ( Cohen et al, 1997 ). The recruitment of task-specific brain nodes for shapes ( Ptito et al, 2012 ), motion ( Saenz et al, 2008 ; Ptito et al, 2009 ; Matteau et al, 2010 ; Striem-Amit et al, 2012b ), number-forms ( Abboud et al, 2015 ), body shapes ( Striem-Amit and Amedi, 2014 ), colors ( Steven et al, 2006 ), word shapes ( Striem-Amit et al, 2012a ), faces ( Likova et al, 2019 ), echolocation ( Norman and Thaler, 2019 ), and tactile navigation ( Kupers et al, 2010a ; Maidenbaum et al, 2018 ) is thought to represent mechanisms of brain plasticity ( Fine and Park, 2018 ; Singh et al, 2018 ) for specific amodal recruitment ( Ptito et al, 2008a ; Chebat et al, 2018b ; see Figure 2 ). The recruitment of the brain areas via SSDs not only shows that it is possible to supplement missing visual information, but that the brain treats the SSD information as if it were real vision, in the sense that it tries to extract the relevant sensory information for each specific task we are trying to accomplish (i.e., motion, colors, navigation, and other tasks illustrated in Figure 2 ).…”

Section: Sensory Deprivation Brain Plasticity Amodality and Spatialmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several different mechanisms influence the development of the congenitally blind brain. Neuroimaging techniques show that brain structures devoted to vision are greatly affected (Kupers and Ptito, 2014;Fine and Park, 2018;Singh et al, 2018), and that the extensive use of the remaining senses (e.g., touch or/and audition) helps blind people to develop a set of impressive skills in various cognitive tasks, probably due to the triggering of neural plasticity mechanisms (Schinazi et al, 2016). These enhanced behavioral performances are correlated to brain plasticity using various types of SSDs (Chebat et al, 2018a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial Competence and Brain Plasticity in Congenital Blindness via Sensory Substitution Devices

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In congenital blindness (CB), tactile, and auditory information can be reinterpreted by the brain to compensate for visual information through mechanisms of brain plasticity triggered by training. Visual deprivation does not cause a cognitive spatial deficit since blind people are able to acquire spatial knowledge about the environment. However, this spatial competence takes longer to achieve but is eventually reached through training-induced plasticity. Congenitally blind individuals can further improve their spatial skills with the extensive use of sensory substitution devices (SSDs), either visual-to-tactile or visual-to-auditory. Using a combination of functional and anatomical neuroimaging techniques, our recent work has demonstrated the impact of spatial training with both visual to tactile and visual to auditory SSDs on brain plasticity, cortical processing, and the achievement of certain forms of spatial competence. The comparison of performances between CB and sighted people using several different sensory substitution devices in perceptual and sensory-motor tasks uncovered the striking ability of the brain to rewire itself during perceptual learning and to interpret novel sensory information even during adulthood. We discuss here the implications of these findings for helping blind people in navigation tasks and to increase their accessibility to both real and virtual environments.

show abstract

“…These are macular degeneration, caused by the thinning of the retina [87,88], diabetic retinopathy, initiated by high glucose levels in the vasculature [89], and glaucoma, caused by elevated intraocular pressure [90]. Underlying biological causes of such degenerative vision loss include epigenetic and genetic factors [88,91], synaptic disruption of neural cells [92,93], cellular apoptosis [94], and detachment in different components of the eye [95] and its connecting pathways [96]. Natural processes of aging are also well-established to accelerate vision loss, highlighting the need for regenerative treatments that target the adult visual system [97][98][99].…”

Section: Significance To the Visual Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microfluidic and Microscale Assays to Examine Regenerative Strategies in the Neuro Retina

Vázquez

2020

Micromachines

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Bioengineering systems have transformed scientific knowledge of cellular behaviors in the nervous system (NS) and pioneered innovative, regenerative therapies to treat adult neural disorders. Microscale systems with characteristic lengths of single to hundreds of microns have examined the development and specialized behaviors of numerous neuromuscular and neurosensory components of the NS. The visual system is comprised of the eye sensory organ and its connecting pathways to the visual cortex. Significant vision loss arises from dysfunction in the retina, the photosensitive tissue at the eye posterior that achieves phototransduction of light to form images in the brain. Retinal regenerative medicine has embraced microfluidic technologies to manipulate stem-like cells for transplantation therapies, where de/differentiated cells are introduced within adult tissue to replace dysfunctional or damaged neurons. Microfluidic systems coupled with stem cell biology and biomaterials have produced exciting advances to restore vision. The current article reviews contemporary microfluidic technologies and microfluidics-enhanced bioassays, developed to interrogate cellular responses to adult retinal cues. The focus is on applications of microfluidics and microscale assays within mammalian sensory retina, or neuro retina, comprised of five types of retinal neurons (photoreceptors, horizontal, bipolar, amacrine, retinal ganglion) and one neuroglia (Müller), but excludes the non-sensory, retinal pigmented epithelium.

show abstract

Blindness and Human Brain Plasticity

Cited by 55 publications

References 137 publications

Acquired olfactory loss alters functional connectivity and morphology

Acquired olfactory loss alters functional connectivity and morphology

Spatial Competence and Brain Plasticity in Congenital Blindness via Sensory Substitution Devices

Microfluidic and Microscale Assays to Examine Regenerative Strategies in the Neuro Retina

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About