Visual Impairment and Cerebral Plasticity in the Human Brain

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Published: Jun 29, 2010
Keywords:
blindness plasticity touch motor control audition

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Maria Luíza Rangel
Universidade Federal Fluminense
Luísa Azevedo Damasceno
Universidade Federal Fluminense
Carlos Alberto Ismério dos Santos Filho
Universidade Federal Fluminense
Felipe Santos de Oliveira
Universidade Federal Fluminense
Fernanda Jazenko
Universidade Federal Fluminense
Antonio Pereira
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte
Luiz de Gonzaga Gawryszewski
Universidade Federal Fluminense

Abstract

Humans are able to analyze the world through information derived from various sensory modalities. After the loss of a given sense, anatomical, physiological and behavioral studies have shown that compensatory plastic changes take place in the cortex, first through the unmasking of synaptic contributions from other modalities, even in primary sensory areas. This fact underscores the metamodal theory of sensory cortical function and can be used to devise effective strategies to train the blind to compensate their loss through better use of the remaining sensory modalities.

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Article Details

Issue
Vol. 12 No. 1 (2010)
Section
Artigos

Copyright to articles published in The Journal Of Psychology: Theory and Practice belongs to the authors, who grant Mackenzie Presbyterian University the not exclusive rights to publish the content. 

 

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