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Seeing the sound after visual loss: functional MRI in acquired auditory-visual synesthesia
Zixin Yong1, Po-Jang Hsieh2, Dan Milea3,4,5
1Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders Program, Duke-NUS Medical School, 8 College Road, Singapore, 169857, Singapore.
Experimental Brain Research
|October 21, 2016
Summary
Acquired auditory-visual synesthesia (AVS) after vision loss causes sound to trigger visual phosphenes. This rare condition involves cross-wiring in the brain's visual cortex, shown by fMRI.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sensory Perception
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Acquired auditory-visual synesthesia (AVS) is a rare neurological phenomenon.
- It involves experiencing visual sensations triggered by auditory stimuli.
Observation:
- This study investigated acquired monocular sound-induced phosphenes in a patient with unilateral vision loss from ischemic optic neuropathy.
- Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to examine brain activity during auditory stimulation.
Findings:
- fMRI revealed bilateral activation in the primary and secondary visual cortex during phosphene experiences.
- This activation pattern was observed when comparing trials with and without reported phosphenes, and contrasted with a healthy control.
Implications:
- The findings suggest that acquired AVS following visual impairment may result from cross-wiring between auditory and visual sensory pathways.
- This provides novel insights into neural plasticity and sensory substitution in the human brain.
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