Braille reading is a remarkable example of the human brain adopting compensatory strategies following loss of a vital function, namely visual input to language. We propose using whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in congenitally blind, late-onset blind and sighted subjects to investigate the functional anatomy of the sensory and cognitive processes underlying Braille reading. These studies address an on-going debate about whether the blind show increased capacity for processing non-visual information and whether these changes are examples of the brain's adaptive plasticity. The central issue underlying these experiments is investigating possible changes in somatosensory, visual and language areas of the brain that facilitate fluent Braille reading in the blind. We propose six interlocking experiments that involve, in turn, passive somatosensory, active tactile (haptic) and language tasks. The first two experiments focus on responses to passive, controlled somatosensory stimulation in blind vs. sighted subjects. These studies involve tactile discrimination tasks and a low-level lexical task of identifying raised block capital letters. The middle two experiments study blind subjects actively reading Braille, first with an emphasis on haptic pattern recognition and then higher-level semantics (word meaning). The last two experiments again involve blind and sighted subjects, now performing semantic and phoneme (word sound)tasks in response to heard words. The first and last two experiments examine similarities and differences in the organization of sensory and language systems in blind and sighted subjects performing non-Braille tasks, without visual and motor performance bias. In addition, these experiments will determine whether Braille reading skill reflects functional cortical changes that are general to somatosensory processing or specific to Braille reading and whether blind and sighted subjects use visual cortex for non-visual tasks in a similar manner. The middle two experiments investigate language skills unique to the blind to determine whether theses subjects have fundamentally modified neural systems or instead access the same cognitive systems as sighted subjects by a different sensory route.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01NS037237-02
Application #
6187124
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-IFCN-4 (01))
Program Officer
Edwards, Emmeline
Project Start
1999-07-01
Project End
2004-06-30
Budget Start
2000-07-01
Budget End
2001-06-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2000
Total Cost
$352,923
Indirect Cost
Name
Washington University
Department
Anatomy/Cell Biology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
062761671
City
Saint Louis
State
MO
Country
United States
Zip Code
63130
Burton, Harold; Agato, Alvin; Sinclair, Robert J (2012) Repetition learning of vibrotactile temporal sequences: an fMRI study in blind and sighted individuals. Brain Res 1433:69-79
Burton, Harold; Wineland, Andre; Bhattacharya, Mousumi et al. (2012) Altered networks in bothersome tinnitus: a functional connectivity study. BMC Neurosci 13:3
Burton, Harold; Firszt, Jill B; Holden, Timothy et al. (2012) Activation lateralization in human core, belt, and parabelt auditory fields with unilateral deafness compared to normal hearing. Brain Res 1454:33-47
Burton, Harold; Sinclair, Robert J; Agato, Alvin (2012) Recognition memory for Braille or spoken words: an fMRI study in early blind. Brain Res 1438:22-34
Sinclair, Robert J; Dixit, Sachin; Burton, Harold (2011) Recognition memory for vibrotactile rhythms: an fMRI study in blind and sighted individuals. Somatosens Mot Res 28:48-62
Naismith, R T; Xu, J; Tutlam, N T et al. (2010) Increased diffusivity in acute multiple sclerosis lesions predicts risk of black hole. Neurology 74:1694-701
Burton, Harold; Sinclair, Robert J; Dixit, Sachin (2010) Working memory for vibrotactile frequencies: comparison of cortical activity in blind and sighted individuals. Hum Brain Mapp 31:1686-701
Burton, Harold; Dixit, Sachin; Litkowski, Patricia et al. (2009) Functional connectivity for somatosensory and motor cortex in spastic diplegia. Somatosens Mot Res 26:90-104
Burton, Harold; Sinclair, Robert J; Wingert, Jason R et al. (2008) Multiple parietal operculum subdivisions in humans: tactile activation maps. Somatosens Mot Res 25:149-62
Wingert, Jason R; Burton, Harold; Sinclair, Robert J et al. (2008) Tactile sensory abilities in cerebral palsy: deficits in roughness and object discrimination. Dev Med Child Neurol 50:832-8

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