Visuo-spatial imagery in dreams of congenitally and early blind: a systematic review

The presence of visual imagery in dreams of congenitally blind people has long been a matter of substantial controversy. We set to systematically review body of published work on the presence and nature of oneiric visuo-spatial impressions in congenitally and early blind subjects across different ar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in integrative neuroscience 2023-06, Vol.17, p.1204129-1204129
Main Authors: Ilic, Katarina, Bertani, Rita, Lapteva, Neda, Drakatos, Panagis, Delogu, Alessio, Raheel, Kausar, Soteriou, Matthew, Mutti, Carlotta, Steier, Joerg, Carmichael, David W, Goadsby, Peter J, Ockelford, Adam, Rosenzweig, Ivana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Blindness
Brain research
congenitally blind
cross-modal plasticity
Dreams
Hallucinations
Investigations
Mental task performance
metamodal brain
Neuroimaging
Neuroplasticity
Neuroscience
Occipital lobe
Sleep
Somatosensory cortex
Systematic review
Visual perception
Visual system
visuo-spatial imagery
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Summary:The presence of visual imagery in dreams of congenitally blind people has long been a matter of substantial controversy. We set to systematically review body of published work on the presence and nature of oneiric visuo-spatial impressions in congenitally and early blind subjects across different areas of research, from experimental psychology, functional neuroimaging, sensory substitution, and sleep research. Relevant studies were identified using the following databases: EMBASE, MEDLINE and PsychINFO. Studies using diverse imaging techniques and sensory substitution devices broadly suggest that the "blind" occipital cortex may be able to integrate non-visual sensory inputs, and thus possibly also generate visuo-spatial impressions. Visual impressions have also been reported by blind subjects who had near-death or out-of-body experiences. Deciphering the mechanistic nature of these visual impression could open new possibility in utilization of neuroplasticity and its potential role for treatment of neurodisability.
ISSN:1662-5145
1662-5145
DOI:10.3389/fnint.2023.1204129