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Resting state functional connectivity in early blind humans.

Harold Burton1, Abraham Z Snyder2, Marcus E Raichle2

  • 1Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, MO, USA ; Department of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, MO, USA.

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|April 30, 2014
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Summary

In early blind individuals (EB), the visual cortex shows increased connectivity with memory and attention networks. This suggests the visual cortex adapts to support enhanced cognitive functions, potentially by reducing cross-sensory interference.

Keywords:
blindnessfMRIfunctional connectivityhumanvisual cortex

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Neuroimaging

Background:

  • Early blindness (EB) leads to heightened visual cortex responses to non-visual tasks.
  • Prior studies show altered functional connectivity in EB, but often overlook behavioral adaptations.
  • EB exhibit enhanced cognitive abilities, such as improved serial recall and attention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if intrinsic brain activity in early blind individuals reflects cognitive adaptations.
  • To examine resting-state functional connectivity in the brain of early blind individuals.
  • To determine how the visual cortex is integrated into cognitive networks in the absence of sight.

Main Methods:

  • Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed.
  • 14 early blind (EB) individuals were compared to 14 age/gender-matched normally sighted controls (NS).
  • Functional connectivity analyses were performed to assess brain network interactions.

Main Results:

  • Early blind individuals exhibited significantly greater functional connectivity between the visual cortex and regions involved in memory and attention.
  • Conversely, correlations between the visual cortex and non-deprived sensory cortices were reduced in EB.
  • These findings suggest a re-purposing of the visual cortex in early blindness.

Conclusions:

  • The visual cortex in early blind individuals becomes integrated into functional systems supporting episodic recall and attention.
  • Reduced interactions between visual and other sensory cortices may reflect a mechanism to suppress inter-sensory distraction.
  • Brain intrinsic activity in EB supports observed cognitive adaptations to lifelong blindness.