Reorganization of thalamocortical connections in congenitally blind humans.

ABSTRACT: Cross-modal plasticity in blind individuals has been reported over the past decades showing that nonvisual information is carried and processed by "visual" brain structures. However, despite multiple efforts, the structural underpinnings of cross-modal plasticity in congenitally blind individuals remain unclear. We mapped thalamocortical connectivity and assessed the integrity of white matter of 10 congenitally blind individuals and 10 sighted controls. We hypothesized an aberrant thalamocortical pattern of connectivity taking place in the absence of visual stimuli from birth as a potential mechanism of cross-modal plasticity. In addition to the impaired microstructure of visual white matter bundles, we observed structural connectivity changes between the thalamus and occipital and tempora

SUBMITTER: Marins TF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9980890 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature