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Sensitive Period for Cognitive Repurposing of Human Visual Cortex.

Shipra Kanjlia1, Rashi Pant1, Marina Bedny1

  • 1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.

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Brain plasticity allows some repurposing of visual cortex after blindness. However, cognitive functions like math and language are only recruited in early-onset blindness, suggesting sensitive periods for cortical reorganization.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Neuroplasticity

Background:

  • Studies of sensory loss reveal the human cortex's functional flexibility.
  • In congenital blindness, visual cortex is repurposed for higher cognitive tasks like language and math.
  • It remains unclear if this functional repurposing occurs throughout life or is limited to developmental sensitive periods.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether functional repurposing of the visual cortex in adulthood is possible.
  • To compare visual cortex function in individuals with congenital blindness, adult-onset blindness, and sighted individuals.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized resting-state and task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
  • Participants performed math and language tasks of varying difficulty.
  • Compared brain activity across three groups: congenitally blind, adult-onset blind (vision loss after age 17), and sighted blindfolded individuals.

Main Results:

  • Blindness at any age led to "visual" cortices synchronizing with frontoparietal networks during rest.
  • Task-based fMRI revealed regional specialization for math and language in visual cortices, but only in individuals with congenital blindness.
  • Activity in these regions was load-dependent, but only in the congenitally blind group.

Conclusions:

  • While long-range functional connectivity is present after blindness onset at any age, cognitive repurposing of the human cortex appears limited by sensitive developmental periods.
  • Adult-onset blindness does not lead to the same level of cognitive specialization within the visual cortex as congenital blindness.