Guerreiro Maria J S, Putzar Lisa, Röder Brigitte
Brain Psychology and Neuropsychology, Institute for Psychology, University of Hamburg, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany
Brain Psychology and Neuropsychology, Institute for Psychology, University of Hamburg, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany.
J Neurosci. 2016 Feb 3;36(5):1620-30. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2559-15.2016.
Transient congenital visual deprivation affects visual and multisensory processing. In contrast, the extent to which it affects auditory processing has not been investigated systematically. Research in permanently blind individuals has revealed brain reorganization during auditory processing, involving both intramodal and crossmodal plasticity. The present study investigated the effect of transient congenital visual deprivation on the neural bases of auditory processing in humans. Cataract-reversal individuals and normally sighted controls performed a speech-in-noise task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. Although there were no behavioral group differences, groups differed in auditory cortical responses: in the normally sighted group, auditory cortex activation increased with increasing noise level, whereas in the cataract-reversal group, no activation difference was observed across noise levels. An auditory activation of visual cortex was not observed at the group level in cataract-reversal individuals. The present data suggest prevailing auditory processing advantages after transient congenital visual deprivation, even many years after sight restoration.
The present study demonstrates that people whose sight was restored after a transient period of congenital blindness show more efficient cortical processing of auditory stimuli (here speech), similarly to what has been observed in congenitally permanently blind individuals. These results underscore the importance of early sensory experience in permanently shaping brain function.
短暂先天性视觉剥夺会影响视觉和多感官处理。相比之下，其对听觉处理的影响程度尚未得到系统研究。对永久性失明个体的研究揭示了听觉处理过程中的大脑重组，涉及模态内和跨模态可塑性。本研究调查了短暂先天性视觉剥夺对人类听觉处理神经基础的影响。白内障逆转个体和正常视力对照组在进行功能磁共振成像时执行了噪声中的语音任务。虽然在行为上没有组间差异，但两组在听觉皮层反应上存在差异：在正常视力组中，听觉皮层激活随噪声水平增加而增强，而在白内障逆转组中，不同噪声水平下未观察到激活差异。在白内障逆转个体的组水平上未观察到视觉皮层的听觉激活。目前的数据表明，即使在视力恢复多年后，短暂先天性视觉剥夺后仍存在主要的听觉处理优势。
本研究表明，在经历短暂先天性失明后恢复视力的人，对听觉刺激（此处为语音）的皮层处理更高效，这与在先天性永久性失明个体中观察到的情况类似。这些结果强调了早期感觉经验对永久塑造脑功能的重要性。
