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      Functional and Structural Neuroplasticity Induced by Short-Term Tactile Training Based on Braille Reading

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          Abstract

          Neuroplastic changes induced by sensory learning have been recognized within the cortices of specific modalities as well as within higher ordered multimodal areas. The interplay between these areas is not fully understood, particularly in the case of somatosensory learning. Here we examined functional and structural changes induced by short-term tactile training based of Braille reading, a task that requires both significant tactile expertise and mapping of tactile input onto multimodal representations. Subjects with normal vision were trained for 3 weeks to read Braille exclusively by touch and scanned before and after training, while performing a same-different discrimination task on Braille characters and meaningless characters. Functional and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging sequences were used to assess resulting changes. The strongest training-induced effect was found in the primary somatosensory cortex (SI), where we observed bilateral augmentation in activity accompanied by an increase in fractional anisotropy (FA) within the contralateral SI. Increases of white matter fractional anisotropy were also observed in the secondary somatosensory area (SII) and the thalamus. Outside of somatosensory system, changes in both structure and function were found in i.e., the fusiform gyrus, the medial frontal gyri and the inferior parietal lobule. Our results provide evidence for functional remodeling of the somatosensory pathway and higher ordered multimodal brain areas occurring as a result of short-lasting tactile learning, and add to them a novel picture of extensive white matter plasticity.

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          Most cited references73

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          The unique role of the visual word form area in reading.

          Reading systematically activates the left lateral occipitotemporal sulcus, at a site known as the visual word form area (VWFA). This site is reproducible across individuals/scripts, attuned to reading-specific processes, and partially selective for written strings relative to other categories such as line drawings. Lesions affecting the VWFA cause pure alexia, a selective deficit in word recognition. These findings must be reconciled with the fact that human genome evolution cannot have been influenced by such a recent and culturally variable activity as reading. Capitalizing on recent functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments, we provide strong corroborating evidence for the hypothesis that reading acquisition partially recycles a cortical territory evolved for object and face recognition, the prior properties of which influenced the form of writing systems. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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            The Interactive Account of ventral occipitotemporal contributions to reading

            The ventral occipitotemporal cortex (vOT) is involved in the perception of visually presented objects and written words. The Interactive Account of vOT function is based on the premise that perception involves the synthesis of bottom-up sensory input with top-down predictions that are generated automatically from prior experience. We propose that vOT integrates visuospatial features abstracted from sensory inputs with higher level associations such as speech sounds, actions and meanings. In this context, specialization for orthography emerges from regional interactions without assuming that vOT is selectively tuned to orthographic features. We discuss how the Interactive Account explains left vOT responses during normal reading and developmental dyslexia; and how it accounts for the behavioural consequences of left vOT damage.
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              Dynamic properties of human brain structure: learning-related changes in cortical areas and associated fiber connections.

              Recent findings in neuroscience suggest that adult brain structure changes in response to environmental alterations and skill learning. Whereas much is known about structural changes after intensive practice for several months, little is known about the effects of single practice sessions on macroscopic brain structure and about progressive (dynamic) morphological alterations relative to improved task proficiency during learning for several weeks. Using T1-weighted and diffusion tensor imaging in humans, we demonstrate significant gray matter volume increases in frontal and parietal brain areas following only two sessions of practice in a complex whole-body balancing task. Gray matter volume increase in the prefrontal cortex correlated positively with subject's performance improvements during a 6 week learning period. Furthermore, we found that microstructural changes of fractional anisotropy in corresponding white matter regions followed the same temporal dynamic in relation to task performance. The results make clear how marginal alterations in our ever changing environment affect adult brain structure and elucidate the interrelated reorganization in cortical areas and associated fiber connections in correlation with improvements in task performance.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Journal
                Front Neurosci
                Front Neurosci
                Front. Neurosci.
                Frontiers in Neuroscience
                Frontiers Media S.A.
                1662-4548
                1662-453X
                13 October 2016
                2016
                : 10
                : 460
                Affiliations
                [1] 1Laboratory of Neuroplasticity, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences Warsaw, Poland
                [2] 2CNS Lab, Nalecz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences Warsaw, Poland
                [3] 3Bioimaging Research Center, World Hearing Center, The Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing Warsaw, Poland
                [4] 4Laboratory of Psychophysiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology Warsaw, Poland
                [5] 5Department of Psychology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities Warsaw, Poland
                [6] 6Department of Psychology, Jagiellonian University Cracow, Poland
                Author notes

                Edited by: Merim Bilalić, Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt, Austria

                Reviewed by: Hidenao Fukuyama, Kyoto University, Japan; Tobias Schmidt-Wilcke, Bergmannsheil and Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany

                *Correspondence: Malgorzata Kossut kossut@ 123456nencki.gov.pl

                This article was submitted to Perception Science, a section of the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience

                Article
                10.3389/fnins.2016.00460
                5061995
                27790087
                604e9c3b-2aa2-4a0f-9353-62179d469e88
                Copyright © 2016 Debowska, Wolak, Nowicka, Kozak, Szwed and Kossut.

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

                History
                : 30 April 2016
                : 26 September 2016
                Page count
                Figures: 5, Tables: 2, Equations: 0, References: 90, Pages: 13, Words: 9287
                Funding
                Funded by: Fundacja na rzecz Nauki Polskiej 10.13039/501100001870
                Categories
                Neuroscience
                Original Research

                Neurosciences
                neuroplasticity,primary somatosensory cortex,secondary somatosensory cortex,sighted,braille,fractional anisotropy

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