Neural adaptations to congenital deafness: enhanced tactile discrimination through cross-modal neural plasticity - an fMRI study.

Autor: Dhanik K; Centre of Bio-Medical Research, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences Campus, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, 226014, India., Pandey HR; Centre of Bio-Medical Research, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences Campus, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, 226014, India., Mishra M; Department of Special Education (Hearing Impairments), Dr. Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University, Lucknow, India., Keshri A; Department of Neuro-otology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences Campus, Lucknow, India., Kumar U; Centre of Bio-Medical Research, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences Campus, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, 226014, India. dr.uttam.kumar@gmail.com.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology [Neurol Sci] 2024 Nov; Vol. 45 (11), pp. 5489-5499. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 May 27.
DOI: 10.1007/s10072-024-07615-4
Abstrakt: Background: This study explores the compensatory neural mechanisms associated with congenital deafness through an examination of tactile discrimination abilities using high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
Objective: To analyze the neural substrates underlying tactile processing in congenitally deaf individuals and compare them with hearing controls.
Methods: Our participant pool included thirty-five congenitally deaf individuals and thirty-five hearing controls. All participants engaged in tactile discrimination tasks involving the identification of common objects by touch. We utilized an analytical suite comprising voxel-based statistics, functional connectivity multivariate/voxel pattern analysis (fc-MVPA), and seed-based connectivity analysis to examine neural activity.
Results: Our findings revealed pronounced neural activity in congenitally deaf participants within regions typically associated with auditory processing, including the bilateral superior temporal gyrus, right middle temporal gyrus, and right rolandic operculum. Additionally, unique activation and connectivity patterns were observed in the right insula and bilateral supramarginal gyrus, indicating a strategic reorganization of neural pathways for tactile information processing. Behaviorally, both groups demonstrated high accuracy in the tactile tasks, exceeding 90%. However, the deaf participants outperformed their hearing counterparts in reaction times, showcasing significantly enhanced efficiency in tactile information processing.
Conclusion: These insights into the brain's adaptability to sensory loss through compensatory neural reorganization highlight the intricate mechanisms by which tactile discrimination is enhanced in the absence of auditory input. Understanding these adaptations can help develop strategies to harness the brain's plasticity to improve sensory processing in individuals with sensory impairments, ultimately enhancing their quality of life through improved tactile perception and sensory integration.
(© 2024. Fondazione Società Italiana di Neurologia.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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