Neural basis of Braille literacy in blind adults and children

盲人成人和儿童盲文识字的神经基础

• 批准号: 10342354
• 负责人: Marina Bedny
• 金额: $ 64.34万
• 依托单位: JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-03-01 至 2027-02-28
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10342354
• 关键词: Adult; Anatomy; Animals; Area; Behavior; Blindness; Brain; Child; Cognitive; Diffusion; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Dorsal; Elements; Employment; Environment; Foundations; Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Human; Image; Income; Individual Differences; Language; Lateral; Learning; Left; Letters; Life; Linguistics; Mathematics; Measures; Modality; Modification; Neurocognitive; Neuronal Plasticity; Occipital lobe; Parietal; Parietal Lobe; Pathway interactions; Persons; Population; Publishing; Reader; Reading; Recycling; Resolution; Series; Shapes; Somatosensory Cortex; Speed; Structure; System; Tactile; Temporal Lobe; Testing; Vision; Visual; Visually Impaired Persons; Work; Writing; adjudicate; base; blind; braille; clinically significant; cognitive testing; deafness; density; experience; experimental study; extrastriate visual cortex; flexibility; higher education; insight; invention; literacy; neuroadaptation; neuromechanism; novel; object recognition; reading ability; recruit; relating to nervous system; response; satisfaction; skills; somatosensory; spelling; theories; tool; white matter

PROJECT SUMMARY The current project examines the neural basis of Braille reading in proficient congenitally blind adults, late blind readers with varying degrees of proficiency and blind children learning to read, using fMRI and high-density diffusion imaging (dMRI). These studies of Braille literacy provide insights into human brain plasticity and the neural basis of culture. Reading changes the anatomy and function of the human brain. In sighted people, reading experience enhances anatomical pathways within and across visual and language networks. Sighted readers develop a ‘visual word form area’ (VWFA) in lateral ventral occipito-temporal cortex (lVOT), tuned to letters and words. Braille offers insights into the mechanisms of cultural recycling by disentangling which aspects of the reading brain are modality invariant and which are modality specific. The current proposal distinguishes between two alternative hypotheses. According to the task-based hypothesis, blind readers develop the same neural mechanisms for reading as the sighted in the lVOT and show similar connectivity changes, because lVOT is intrinsically predisposed for modality-invariant shape recognition. By contrast, the connectivity-based hypothesis proposes that connectivity and experience heavily influence reading localization. It therefore predicts that blind individuals develop tactile word form areas (TWFAs) in parietal regions with strong connectivity to somatosensory and language networks. It also predicts that Braille literacy enhances anatomical connectivity of these parietal network. Aim 1 investigates the neural changes support this expert reading in congenitally blind adults. Proficient Braille readers can achieve speeds of 200 words per minute and more. What neural changes enable this ability? In a series of fMRI experiments with congenitally blind proficient readers we use MVPA and fMRI adaptation to test our hypothesis that proficient blind readers develop ‘tactile word form areas’ TWFAs in posterior parietal cortex and connected dorsal occipital areas. Aim 2 tests the prediction that individual differences in the connectivity (dMRI) and functional specialization of parietal areas predicts individual differences in reading proficiency among congenitally and late blind adults, whereas individual differences in early visual areas only predict individual differences in the congenitally blind population. Aim 3 tests the key prediction that TWFA specialization and Braille-reading associated connectivity changes emerge as a result of literacy by working with congenitally blind children (dMRI and fMRI) longitudinally, as they learn to read. Uncovering neural markers of successful Braille literacy will test theories of human brain plasticity and facilitate and inform strategies for enhancing Braille literacy among people who are blind.

项目摘要 当前的项目考试是先天性盲人，后期盲人的盲文阅读的神经基础 具有不同程度能力的读者和盲人儿童学习阅读，使用fMRI和高密度 扩散成像（DMRI）。这些对盲文素养的研究提供了对人脑可塑性的见解和 文化的神经基础。 阅读会改变人脑的解剖结构和功能。在视力的人中，阅读经验 增强视觉和语言网络内部和整个语言网络的解剖途径。视力读者发展了 腹侧枕叶状性皮层（LVOT）中的“视觉单词形式区域”（VWFA），调整为字母和单词。 盲文通过解开阅读的各个方面来了解文化回收的机制 大脑是模态不变的，它们是特定于模态的。当前的提议区分了两个 替代假设。根据基于任务的假设，盲目的读者发展了相同的中性 读取的机制是在LVOT中看到的，并显示出类似的连接性变化，因为LVOT是 本质上倾向于模态不变的形状识别。相比之下，基于连接的 连通性和经历的假设提案严重影响阅读本地化。因此 预测，盲人在壁垒区域发展触觉单词形式区域（TWFA） 连接到体感和语言网络。它还预测盲文素养会增强 这些顶叶网络的解剖连通性。 AIM 1调查神经变化支持原始盲人成年人的专家阅读。精通 盲文读者可以达到每分钟200个字的速度。什么神经变化使这个 能力？在一系列具有先天盲目熟练读者的功能磁共振成像实验中，我们使用MVPA和fMRI 改编以检验我们的假设，即精通盲目的读者在 顶壁皮层和背枕骨区域。 AIM 2测试个人的预测 连通性（DMRI）的差异和顶部区域的功能专业化预测了个体 先天和晚期盲人的阅读能力差异，而个体的差异 早期视觉区域仅预测先天盲人人口的个体差异。 AIM 3测试钥匙 预测TWFA专业化和盲文阅读相关的连接性随着由于 通过与先天盲人儿童（DMRI和fMRI）合作，他们学会阅读，扫盲。 揭示成功的盲文素养的神经标记将测试人脑可塑性的理论并准备 并为增强盲人的人的盲文识字素养提供信息。