Activation of the primary visual cortex by Braille reading in blind subjects
Abstract
Primary visual cortex receives visual input from the eyes through the lateral geniculate nuclei, but is not known to receive input from other sensory modalities. Its level of activity, both at rest and during auditory or tactile tasks, is higher in blind subjects than in normal controls, suggesting that it can subserve nonvisual functions; however, a direct effect of non-visual tasks on activation has not been demonstrated. To determine whether the visual cortex receives input from the somatosensory system we used positron emission tomography (PET) to measure activation during tactile discrimination tasks in normal subjects and in Braille readers blinded in early life. Blind subjects showed activation of primary and secondary visual cortical areas during tactile tasks, whereas normal controls showed deactivation. A simple tactile stimulus that did not require discrimination produced no activation of visual areas in either group. Thus in blind subjects, cortical areas normally reserved for vision may be activated by other sensory modalities.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Cites
Co-Planar Stereotaxic Atlas of the Human Brain
Talairach, J., & Tournoux, P. (1988) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 11,798 · see citing works
Co-planar stereotaxic atlas of the human brain
Laitinen, L. (1989) · Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery · doi:10.1016/0303-8467(89)90128-5 · Cited by 7,565 · see citing works
A three-dimensional statistical analysis for CBF activation studies in human brain
Worsley, K. J., Evans, A. C., Marrett, S., & Neelin, P. (1992) · Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism · doi:10.1038/jcbfm.1992.127 · Cited by 2,036 · see citing works
Assessing the significance of focal activations using their spatial extent
Friston, K. J., Worsley, K. J., Frackowiak, R. S. J., Mazziotta, J. C., & Evans, A. C. (1994) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.460010306 · Cited by 1,907 · see citing works
Comparing Functional (PET) Images: The Assessment of Significant Change
Friston, K. J., Frith, C., Liddle, P. F., & Frackowiak, R. S. J. (1991) · Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism · doi:10.1038/jcbfm.1991.122 · Cited by 1,626 · see citing works
Visual properties of neurons in a polysensory area in superior temporal sulcus of the macaque.
Bruce, C. J., Desimone, R., & Gross, C. G. (1981) · Journal of Neurophysiology · doi:10.1152/jn.1981.46.2.369 · Cited by 1,230 · see citing works
Haxby, J., Horwitz, B., Ungerleider, L. G., Maisog, J. M., Pietrini, P., & Grady, C. (1994) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.14-11-06336.1994 · Cited by 1,065 · see citing works
Functional specialisation in the visual cortex of the rhesus monkey
Zeki, S. M. (1978) · Nature · doi:10.1038/274423a0 · Cited by 874 · see citing works
The Relationship between Global and Local Changes in PET Scans
Friston, K. J., Frith, C., Liddle, P. F., Dolan, R. J., Lammertsma, A. A., & Frackowiak, R. S. J. (1990) · Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism · doi:10.1038/jcbfm.1990.88 · Cited by 858 · see citing works
Compensatory plasticity and sensory substitution in the cerebral cortex
Rauschecker, J. P. (1995) · Trends in Neurosciences · doi:10.1016/0166-2236(95)93948-w · Cited by 590 · see citing works
The Organization of Connections between Areas V5 and V1 in Macaque Monkey Visual Cortex
Shipp, S. D., & Zeki, S. (1989) · European Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1111/j.1460-9568.1989.tb00798.x · Cited by 315 · see citing works
Activation of human primary visual cortex during visual recall: a magnetic resonance imaging study.
Bihan, D. L., Turner, R., Zeffiro, T. A., Cuénod, C. A., Jezzard, P., & Bonnerot, V. (1993) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.90.24.11802 · Cited by 290 · see citing works
Auditory compensation for early blindness in cat cerebral cortex
Rauschecker, J. P., & Körte, M. (1993) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.13-10-04538.1993 · Cited by 266 · see citing works
Molyneux's Question: Vision, Touch and the Philosophy of Perception
D., C. P., & Morgan, M. J. (1978) · The American Journal of Psychology · doi:10.2307/1421707 · Cited by 251 · see citing works
Heller, M. A., & Heller, M. A. (2013) · Psychology Press eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781315799629 · Cited by 215 · see citing works
High metabolic activity in the visual cortex of early blind human subjects
Wanet-Defalque, M.-C., Veraart, C., Volder, A. D., Metz, R., Michel, C. J., Dooms, G., & Goffinet, A. M. (1988) · Brain Research · doi:10.1016/0006-8993(88)90896-7 · Cited by 201 · see citing works
Early visual deprivation alters modality of neuronal responses in area 19 of monkey cortex
Hyvärinen, J., Carlson, S., & Hyvärinen, L. (1981) · Neuroscience Letters · doi:10.1016/0304-3940(81)90139-7 · Cited by 161 · see citing works
On the functionality of the visually deprived occipital cortex in early blind persons
Uhl, F., Franzen, P., Lindinger, G., Lang, W., & Deecke, L. (1991) · Neuroscience Letters · doi:10.1016/0304-3940(91)90107-5 · Cited by 153 · see citing works
Meyer, E., Ferguson, S. S. G., Zatorre, R. J., Alivisatos, B., Marrett, S., Evans, A. C., & Hakim, A. M. (1991) · Annals of Neurology · doi:10.1002/ana.410290418 · Cited by 139 · see citing works
Changes in Regional Cerebral Oxidative Metabolism Induced by Tactile Learning and Recognition in Man
Roland, P. E., Eriksson, L., Widén, L., & Stone‐Elander, S. (1989) · European Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1111/j.1460-9568.1989.tb00769.x · Cited by 131 · see citing works
Drawing and the Blind. Pictures to Touch
Arnheim, R., & Kennedy, J. M. (1995) · Journal of Aesthetic Education · doi:10.2307/3333527 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
Understanding and representing space
Millar, S. (1994) · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Uhl, F., Kretschmer, T., Lindinger, G., Goldenberg, G., Lang, W., Oder, W., & Deecke, L. (1994) · Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology · doi:10.1016/0013-4694(94)90188-0 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Fraser, I. L. (1969) · PubMed · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Drawing and the Blind: Pictures to Touch
Lopes, D. M., & Kennedy, J. M. (1995) · Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism · doi:10.2307/431370 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
The plastic human brain cortex
Pascual-Leone, A., Amedi, A., Fregni, F., & Merabet, L. B. (2005) · Annual Review of Neuroscience · doi:10.1146/annurev.neuro.27.070203.144216 · Cited by 1,929 · see citing works
Self-citationCross-modal plasticity: where and how?
Bavelier, D., & Neville, H. J. (2002) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn848 · Cited by 1,040 · see citing works
Functional relevance of cross-modal plasticity in blind humans
Cohen, L. G., Celnik, P., Pascual-Leone, A., Corwell, B., Faiz, L., Dambrosia, J., Honda, M., Sadato, N., Gerloff, C., Catala´, M. D., et al. (1997) · Nature · doi:10.1038/38278 · Cited by 911 · see citing works
Self-citationPascual-Leone, A. (2000) · Current Opinion in Neurobiology · doi:10.1016/s0959-4388(00)00081-7 · Cited by 923 · see citing works
Self-citationAnatomical evidence of multimodal integration in primate striate cortex
Falchier, A., Clavagnier, S., Barone, P., & Kennedy, H. (2002) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.22-13-05749.2002 · Cited by 892 · see citing works
Neural reorganization following sensory loss: the opportunity of change
Merabet, L. B., & Pascual-Leone, A. (2010) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn2758 · Cited by 751 · see citing works
Self-citationVisuo-haptic object-related activation in the ventral visual pathway
Amedi, A., Malach, R., Hendler, T., Peled, S., & Zohary, E. (2001) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/85201 · Cited by 630 · see citing works
Chapter 27 The metamodal organization of the brain
Pascual-Leone, A., & Hamilton, R. (2001) · Progress in Brain Research · doi:10.1016/s0079-6123(01)34028-1 · Cited by 540 · see citing works
Neville, H. J., Bavelier, D., Corina, D., Rauschecker, J., Karni, A., Lalwani, A., Braun, A., Clark, V., Jezzard, P., & Turner, R. (1998) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.95.3.922 · Cited by 514 · see citing works
Involvement of visual cortex in tactile discrimination of orientation
Zangaladze, A., Epstein, C. M., Grafton, S. T., & Sathian, K. (1999) · Nature · doi:10.1038/44139 · Cited by 508 · see citing works
Different activation patterns in the visual cortex of late and congenitally blind subjects
Buchel, C. (1998) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/121.3.409 · Cited by 426 · see citing works
Tactile spatial resolution in blind Braille readers
Boven, R. W. V., Hamilton, R. H., Kauffman, T., Keenan, J. P., & Pascual–Leone, A. (2000) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.54.12.2230 · Cited by 380 · see citing works
Self-citationThe role of segmentation in phonological processing: an fMRI investigation
Burton, M. W., Small, S. L., & Blumstein, S. E. (2000) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/089892900562309 · Cited by 378 · see citing works
A multimodal language region in the ventral visual pathway
Büchel, C., Price, C., & Friston, K. (1998) · Nature · doi:10.1038/28389 · Cited by 378 · see citing works
The Argus® II Retinal Prosthesis System
Luo, Y. H.-L., & da Cruz, L. (2016) · Progress in Retinal and Eye Research · doi:10.1016/j.preteyeres.2015.09.003 · Cited by 351 · see citing works
Ptito, M. (2005) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/awh380 · Cited by 310 · see citing works
A ventral visual stream reading center independent of visual experience
Reich, L., Szwed, M., Cohen, L., & Amedi, A. (2011) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2011.01.040 · Cited by 295 · see citing works
Usable gestures for blind people: understanding preference and performance
Kane, S. K., Wobbrock, J. O., & Ladner, R. E. (2011) · Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/1978942.1979001 · Cited by 314 · see citing works
Compensatory plasticity and cross-modal reorganization following early visual deprivation
Kupers, R., & Ptito, M. (2014) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.08.001 · Cited by 293 · see citing works
Visual cortex activity in early and late blind people
Burton, H. (2003) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.23-10-04005.2003 · Cited by 270 · see citing works
Impairment of auditory spatial localization in congenitally blind human subjects
Gori, M., Sandini, G., Martinoli, C., & Burr, D. C. (2014) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/awt311 · Cited by 252 · see citing works
Auditory motion perception activates visual motion areas in early blind subjects
Poirier, C., Collignon, O., Scheiber, C., Renier, L., Vanlierde, A., Tranduy, D., Veraart, C., & De Volder, A. G. (2006) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2005.11.036 · Cited by 227 · see citing works
Beyond sensory substitution—learning the sixth sense
Nagel, S. K., Carl, C., Kringe, T., Märtin, R., & König, P. (2005) · Journal of Neural Engineering · doi:10.1088/1741-2560/2/4/r02 · Cited by 225 · see citing works
The role of visual experience for the neural basis of spatial cognition
Pasqualotto, A., & Proulx, M. J. (2012) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.01.008 · Cited by 192 · see citing works
Functional connectivity of visual cortex in the blind follows retinotopic organization principles
Striem-Amit, E., Ovadia-Caro, S., Caramazza, A., Margulies, D. S., Villringer, A., & Amedi, A. (2015) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/awv083 · Cited by 194 · see citing works
Cellular and molecular mechanisms of immunomodulation in the brain through environmental enrichment
Singhal, G., Jaehne, E. J., Corrigan, F., & Baune, B. T. (2014) · Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fncel.2014.00097 · Cited by 186 · see citing works
What blindness can tell us about seeing again: merging neuroplasticity and neuroprostheses
Merabet, L. B., Rizzo, J. F., Amedi, A., Somers, D. C., & Pascual-Leone, A. (2005) · Nature reviews. Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn1586 · Cited by 179 · see citing works
Voss, P., Gougoux, F., Zatorre, R. J., Lassonde, M., & Lepore, F. (2008) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2007.12.020 · Cited by 161 · see citing works
Ricciardi, E., Bonino, D., Pellegrini, S., & Pietrini, P. (2014) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.10.006 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
The effects of visual deprivation on functional and structural organization of the human Brain
NOPPENEY, U. (2007) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2007.04.012 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Arno, P., De Volder, A. G., Vanlierde, A., Wanet-Defalque, M.-C., Streel, E., Robert, A., Sanabria-Bohórquez, S., & Veraart, C. (2001) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1006/nimg.2000.0731 · Cited by 148 · see citing works
Wang, Y., Celebrini, S., Trotter, Y., & Barone, P. (2008) · BMC Neuroscience · doi:10.1186/1471-2202-9-79 · Cited by 144 · see citing works
Cortical plasticity and preserved function in early blindness
Renier, L., De Volder, A. G., & Rauschecker, J. P. (2014) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.01.025 · Cited by 144 · see citing works
Echolocation in humans: an overview
Thaler, L., & Goodale, M. A. (2016) · WIREs Cognitive Science · doi:10.1002/wcs.1408 · Cited by 127 · see citing works
Cortical activity during tactile exploration of objects in blind and sighted humans
Amedi, A., Raz, N., Azulay, H., Malach, R., & Zohary, E. (2010) · Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience · doi:10.3233/rnn-2010-0503 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
Kupers, R., Fumal, A., de Noordhout, A. M., Gjedde, A., Schoenen, J., & Ptito, M. (2006) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0602925103 · Cited by 122 · see citing works
Designing sensory-substitution devices: Principles, pitfalls and potential1
Kristjánsson, Á., Moldoveanu, A., Jóhannesson, Ó. I., Balan, O., Spagnol, S., Valgeirsdóttir, V. V., & Unnthorsson, R. (2016) · Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience · doi:10.3233/rnn-160647 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
“Blind participants show activation of primary and secondary visual cortex from tactile stimulation during Braille reading (Sadato et al., 1996).”
BackgroundChanges in occipital cortex activity in early blind humans using a sensory substitution device
De Volder, A. G., Catalan-Ahumada, M., Robert, A., Bol, A., Labar, D., Coppens, A., Michel, C., & Veraart, C. (1999) · Brain Research · doi:10.1016/s0006-8993(99)01275-5 · Cited by 114 · see citing works
TMS of the occipital cortex induces tactile sensations in the fingers of blind Braille readers
Ptito, M., Fumal, A., de Noordhout, A. M., Schoenen, J., Gjedde, A., & Kupers, R. (2008) · Experimental Brain Research · doi:10.1007/s00221-007-1091-0 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
Development of a cortical visual neuroprosthesis for the blind: the relevance of neuroplasticity
Fernández, E., Pelayo, F., Romero, S., Bongard, M., Marin, C., Alfaro, A., & Merabet, L. (2005) · Journal of Neural Engineering · doi:10.1088/1741-2560/2/4/r01 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
Sleep, plasticity, and sensory neurodevelopment
Blumberg, M. S., Dooley, J. C., & Tiriac, A. (2022) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2022.08.005 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
The role of blind humans’ visual cortex in auditory change detection
Kujala, T., Palva, M. J., Salonen, O., Alku, P., Huotilainen, M., Järvinen, A., & Näätänen, R. (2005) · Neuroscience Letters · doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2004.12.070 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Wang, X., Peelen, M. V., Han, Z., He, C., Caramazza, A., & Bi, Y. (2015) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3914-14.2015 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Cortical visual prostheses: From microstimulation to functional percept
Najarpour Foroushani, A., Pack, C. C., & Sawan, M. (2018) · Journal of Neural Engineering · doi:10.1088/1741-2552/aaa904 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Ortiz, T., Poch, J., Santos, J. M., Requena, C., Martínez, A. M., Ortiz-Terán, L., Turrero, A., Barcia, J., Nogales, R., Calvo, A., et al. (2011) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023264 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Self-citationGeneralized Learning of Visual-to-Auditory Substitution in Sighted Individuals
Kim, J.-K., & Zatorre, R. J. (2008) · Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2008.06.038 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
New Vision for Visual Prostheses
Farnum, A., & Pelled, G. (2020) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2020.00036 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Reduced left lateralization of language in congenitally blind individuals
Lane, C., Kanjlia, S., Richardson, H., Fulton, A., Omaki, A., & Bedny, M. (2017) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/jocn_a_01045 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Pattern recognition using a device substituting audition for vision in blindfolded sighted subjects
Poirier, C., De Volder, A., Tranduy, D., & Scheiber, C. (2007) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.09.018 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Auditory, tactile, and audiotactile information processing following visual deprivation
Occelli, V., Spence, C., & Zampini, M. (2013) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0028416 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
The argus ii retinal prosthesis system
Bloch, E., & da Cruz, L. (2020) · Prosthesis · doi:10.5772/intechopen.84947 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Advances in neuroscience, not devices, will determine the effectiveness of visual prostheses
Abbasi, B., & Rizzo, J. F. (2021) · Seminars in Ophthalmology · doi:10.1080/08820538.2021.1887902 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
- Authors
- Sadato, N., Pascual-Leone, A., Grafman, J., Ibañez, V., Deiber, M.-P., Dold, G., & Hallett, M.
- Affiliations
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 1996-04
- Volume
- 380
- Issue
- 6574
- Pages
- 526-528
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W2046254084
- Cited by
- 1,253
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2026: 38 · 2025: 33 · 2024: 40 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 47 · 2021: 53 · 2020: 43 · 2019: 41 · 2018: 43 · 2017: 35 · 2016: 48 · 2015: 51 · 2014: 43 · 2013: 49 · 2012: 54
- FWCI
- 21.17
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Tactile and Sensory Interactions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Multisensory perception and integration
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
- Keywords
- primary visual cortex, Braille reading, tactile discrimination, cross-modal plasticity, cortical deactivation, secondary visual cortex, sensory substitution
- MeSH terms
- Blindness, Brain Mapping, Cerebrovascular Circulation, Communication Aids for Disabled, Communication Devices for People with Disabilities, Humans, Neuronal Plasticity, Reading, Sensory Aids, Somatosensory Cortex, Tomography, Emission-Computed, Touch, Visual Cortex
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
