Centre de Recherche en Neuropsychologie et Cognition (CERNEC), Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada.
BMC Neurosci. 2013 Oct 4;14:113. doi: 10.1186/1471-2202-14-113.
In the absence of visual input, the question arises as to how complex spatial abilities develop and how the brain adapts to the absence of this modality. As such, the aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between visual status and an important brain structure with a well established role in spatial cognition and navigation, the caudate nucleus. We conducted a volumetric analysis of the caudate nucleus in congenitally and late blind individuals, as well as in matched sighted control subjects.
No differences in the volume of the structure were found either between congenitally blind (CB) and matched sighted controls or between late blind (LB) and matched sighted controls. Moreover, contrary to what was expected, no significant correlation was found between caudate volume and performance in a spatial navigation task. Finally, consistent with previously published reports, the volume of the caudate nucleus was found to be negatively correlated with age in the sighted; however such correlations were not significant in the blind groups.
Although there were no group differences, the absence of an age-volume correlation in the blind suggests that visual deprivation may still have an effect on the developmental changes that occur in the caudate nucleus.
在缺乏视觉输入的情况下，人们不禁会产生疑问，复杂的空间能力是如何发展的，以及大脑是如何适应这种感觉缺失的。因此，本研究旨在探究视觉状态与尾状核之间的关系，尾状核在空间认知和导航中具有重要作用，且其结构已得到充分证实。我们对先天性失明和后天失明个体以及匹配的视力正常对照组的尾状核进行了容积分析。
无论是先天性失明者（CB）与匹配的视力正常对照组之间，还是后天失明者（LB）与匹配的视力正常对照组之间，结构体积均无差异。此外，与预期相反的是，尾状核体积与空间导航任务表现之间没有显著相关性。最后，与先前的报道一致，在视力正常者中，尾状核体积与年龄呈负相关；然而，在失明者中，这种相关性并不显著。
尽管各组之间没有差异，但在失明者中缺乏年龄-体积相关性表明，视觉剥夺可能仍然会影响尾状核中发生的发育变化。
