Effects of visual deprivation on the organization of the semantic system

Early onset blindness provides a lesion model to investigate whether experience‐dependent mechanisms subtend the functional anatomy of semantic retrieval. In particular, visual deprivation might alter the neural systems underlying retrieval of semantic information that is acquired via visual experie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain (London, England : 1878) England : 1878), 2003-07, Vol.126 (7), p.1620-1627
Main Authors: Noppeney, Uta, Friston, Karl J., Price, Cathy J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Analysis of Variance
Biological and medical sciences
blindness
Blindness - congenital
Blindness - physiopathology
Blindness - psychology
BOLD = blood oxygenation level dependent
cortical plasticity
Cranial nerves. Spinal roots. Peripheral nerves. Autonomic nervous system. Gustation. Olfaction
Female
fMRI = functional MRI
functional imaging
Humans
LPMT = left posterior middle temporal region
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Medical sciences
Mental Recall
Middle Aged
Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes)
Neurology
Neuronal Plasticity
Psychophysiology
Reaction Time
semantic organization
Semantics
SPM = statistical parametric mapping
Temporal Lobe - physiopathology
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Description
Summary:Early onset blindness provides a lesion model to investigate whether experience‐dependent mechanisms subtend the functional anatomy of semantic retrieval. In particular, visual deprivation might alter the neural systems underlying retrieval of semantic information that is acquired via visual experience. Using functional MRI, we demonstrate that both early blind and sighted subjects activate a left‐lateralized fronto‐temporal ‘core’ semantic retrieval system and show common effects for retrieval of visually experienced semantic information. However, irrespective of the type of semantics, blind subjects activate additional extrastriate regions, which are coupled with frontal and temporal semantic regions. The resilience of semantic retrieval responses to visual deprivation suggests a considerable degree of innate and epigenetic specification of the semantic system. In contrast, the exuberant functional connectivity between extrastriate and ‘core’ semantic retrieval regions might be explained by abnormal pruning processes during early neurodevelopment.
ISSN:0006-8950
1460-2156
1460-2156
DOI:10.1093/brain/awg152