Siuda-Krzywicka, K, Bola, Ł, Paplińska, M, Sumera, E, Jednoróg, K, Marchewka, A, Sliwinska, M, Amedi, A and Szwed, M (2016) Massive cortical reorganization in sighted Braille readers. eLife. ISSN 2050-084X

Preview

Text SiudaKrzywicka_2016.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

The brain is capable of large-scale reorganization in blindness or after massive injury. Such reorganization crosses the division into separate sensory cortices (visual, somatosensory...). As its result, the visual cortex of the blind becomes active during tactile Braille reading. Although the possibility of such reorganization in the normal, adult brain has been raised, definitive evidence has been lacking. Here, we demonstrate such extensive reorganization in normal, sighted adults who learned Braille while their brain activity was investigated with fMRI and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Subjects showed enhanced activity for tactile reading in the visual cortex, including the visual word form area (VWFA) that was modulated by their Braille reading speed and strengthened resting-state connectivity between visual and somatosensory cortices. Moreover, TMS disruption of VWFA activity decreased their tactile reading accuracy. Our results indicate that large-scale reorganization is a viable mechanism recruited when learning complex skills.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	0601 Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions:	Psychology (from Sep 2019)
Publisher:	eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
Date Deposited:	06 Jul 2020 08:38
Last Modified:	04 Sep 2021 07:03
DOI or ID number:	10.7554/eLife.10762
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/13251

View Item