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Neurochemical changes within human early blind occipital cortex.
K E Weaver1, T L Richards, M Saenz
1Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States.
Neuroscience
|August 20, 2013
Summary
Early blindness alters occipital cortex biochemistry, increasing creatine, choline, and myo-inositol while decreasing GABA. These neurochemical changes may drive cross-modal responses in the visual cortex.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurobiology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Early blindness leads to occipital cortex neurons responding to non-visual stimuli.
- Significant anatomical and neurochemical reorganization occurs in the occipital cortex following visual deprivation.
- Human studies on the neurochemical effects of early blindness are limited compared to animal models.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of early blindness on neurochemical pathways within the human occipital cortex.
- To characterize specific biochemical alterations associated with cross-modal plasticity in the visual cortex of blind individuals.
Main Methods:
- Utilized proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) to analyze occipital cortex biochemistry.
- Compared neurochemical profiles in nine early blind subjects with normally sighted controls.
Main Results:
- Observed significantly higher levels of creatine, choline, and myo-inositol in the occipital cortex of early blind individuals.
- Detected indications of lower gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels in the occipital cortex of early blind subjects.
- Found distinct biochemical differences in the occipital cortex correlating with early-onset blindness.
Conclusions:
- Early blindness is associated with substantial alterations in occipital cortex neurochemistry.
- Changes in biochemical pathways, including elevated creatine, choline, myo-inositol, and reduced GABA, may underlie cross-modal functional reorganization in the visual cortex.
- These findings highlight the role of neurochemical adaptations in the brain's response to visual deprivation.
Keywords:
ANOVABOLDCSFEBFIDFWHMGMMRSN-acetyl aspartateN-methyl-d-aspartateNAANMDAPETPRESSPosition Resolved SpectroscopyS/NSCWManalysis of varianceblindnessblood-oxygen-level-dependentcerebral spinal fluidcross-modal plasticityearly blindfree-induction decayfull width at half maximumgray mattermagnetic resonance spectroscopyoccipitalpositron emission tomographysighted controlsignal to noise ratiovisual deprivationwhite matter
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