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Transcranial magnetic stimulation of the visual cortex induces somatotopically organized qualia in blind subjects
Abstract
After loss of a particular sensory channel, the deprived cortex can be activated by inputs from other sensory modalities. It is not known whether activation of the rewired cortex evokes subjective experiences characteristic of that cortex or consistent with the rerouted sensory information. In a previous study, blind subjects were trained to perform visual tasks with a tongue display unit, a sensory substitution device that translates visual displays into electrotactile tongue stimulation. This cross-modal sensory stimulation activated their visual cortices. We now extend this finding by using transcranial magnetic stimulation to examine the perceptual correlates of training-induced plastic responses. We find that blind subjects proficient with the use of the tongue display unit report somatopically organized tactile sensations that are referred to the tongue when transcranial magnetic stimulation is applied over the occipital cortex. No such sensations were evoked in trained, blindfolded, seeing control subjects who performed the sensory substitution task equally well. These data show that the perceptual correlate of activity in a given cortical area reflects the characteristics of its novel sensory input source.
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“Of note, stimulation of the visual cortex in congenitally blind individuals can inadvertently produce tactile sensations rather than visual phosphenes, particularly in blind subjects who had undertaken extensive training with sensory substitution systems.39–41”
From Visual Prostheses in the Era of Artificial Intelligence Technology (2025) · cites this paper as [39]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Kupers, R., Fumal, A., de Noordhout, A. M., Gjedde, A., Schoenen, J., & Ptito, M.
- Affiliations
- Aarhus University (DK)
- Centre hospitalier régional de la Citadelle (BE)
- Department of Neurology, Centre Hospitalier Régional Citadelle Hospital, 4000 Liège, Belgium; and
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2006-08-29
- Volume
- 103
- Issue
- 35
- Pages
- 13256-13260
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- OpenAlex
- W2115174817
- Cited by
- 122
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 3.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- correction (2006-10-10)
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ORBi (University of Liège) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Tactile and Sensory Interactions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Multisensory perception and integration
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Studies
- Keywords
- transcranial magnetic stimulation, visual cortex, blindness, sensory substitution, cross-modal plasticity, qualia, somatotopic organization, tactile perception, occipital cortex, cortical reorganization
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Blindness, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Paresthesia, Phosphenes, Photic Stimulation, Physical Stimulation, Tongue, Touch, Visual Cortex, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
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