Blocking tactile input to one finger using anaesthetic enhances touch perception and learning in other fingers.

ABSTRACT: Brain plasticity is a key mechanism for learning and recovery. A striking example of plasticity in the adult brain occurs following input loss, for example, following amputation, whereby the deprived zone is "invaded" by new representations. Although it has long been assumed that such reorganization leads to functional benefits for the invading representation, the behavioral evidence is controversial. Here, we investigate whether a temporary period of somatosensory input loss to one finger, induced by anesthetic block, is sufficient to cause improvements in touch perception ("direct" effects of deafferentation). Further, we determine whether this deprivation can improve touch perception by enhancing sensory learning processes, for example, by training ("interactive" effects). Importantly,

SUBMITTER: Dempsey-Jones H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6459089 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature