Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 24, 2026
07:12
Development of a Gaze-Contingent Display Framework Designed for Perceptual and Oculomotor Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss
Published on: April 11, 2025
1.0K
Massive cortical reorganization in sighted Braille readers
Katarzyna Siuda-Krzywicka1,2, Łukasz Bola1,3, Małgorzata Paplińska4
1Department of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
Elife
|March 16, 2016
Summary
The sighted brain can reorganize itself to process tactile information, like Braille, in areas typically used for vision. This demonstrates significant brain plasticity even in adulthood when learning new complex skills.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Neuroplasticity
Background:
- The brain exhibits large-scale reorganization following blindness or injury, repurposing sensory cortices.
- The visual cortex of blind individuals activates during tactile Braille reading.
- Evidence for such extensive reorganization in the normal adult brain has been limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate large-scale brain reorganization in sighted adults learning Braille.
- To provide definitive evidence for cross-modal plasticity in the adult brain.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to monitor brain activity.
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to disrupt specific brain areas.
- Assessment of Braille reading speed and accuracy.
Main Results:
- Sighted adults showed enhanced activity in the visual cortex, including the visual word form area (VWFA), during tactile Braille reading.
- VWFA activity correlated with Braille reading speed.
- Strengthened resting-state connectivity was observed between visual and somatosensory cortices.
- TMS disruption of the VWFA impaired tactile reading accuracy.
Conclusions:
- Learning complex skills like Braille can induce extensive cross-modal reorganization in the sighted adult brain.
- The visual cortex, including the VWFA, can be recruited for tactile processing.
- This study provides strong evidence for neuroplasticity and large-scale reorganization as mechanisms for skill acquisition.
Related Concept Videos
01:33Somatosensation
45.1K
The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.
45.1K
01:12Visual Agnosia
1.6K
Visual agnosia is a condition characterized by the inability to recognize visually presented objects despite having normal vision. For instance, a person with visual agnosia can describe the shape and color of an object but cannot identify or name it. This impairment does not affect their visual field, acuity, color vision, brightness discrimination, language, or memory. An example of this condition in a social setting is someone at a dinner party asking for "that silver thing with a round...
1.6K
01:01Neuroplasticity
2.4K
Neuroplasticity reflects the brain's remarkable capacity to adapt and evolve, responding dynamically to learning, experiences, or injury by reorganizing its neural circuitry. This reorganization involves creating new neural connections and refining old ones through a series of biological processes that contribute to the brain's lifelong development and adaptability.
2.4K
01:24Vision
61.3K
Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.
61.3K
01:14Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex
8.9K
The cerebral cortex, the brain's outermost layer, is pivotal in processing complex cognitive tasks, emotions, and various sensory inputs and executing voluntary motor activities. This intricate structure is divided into three primary functional areas: the motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas.
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex....
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex....
8.9K
01:26Visual System
2.3K
Light enters the eye through the cornea, a transparent, dome-shaped surface covering the surface of the eyeball that helps to direct and focus incoming light. This light is then channeled toward the pupil, an adjustable opening whose size is controlled by the iris. The iris, a pigmented muscle, regulates the amount of light entering the eye by contracting or dilating the pupil, thereby ensuring optimal light levels for clear vision.
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...
2.3K