Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles are often cited as anecdotal evidence that blindness confers superior musical ability. In fact, systematic studies have shown that blind persons perform nonvisual tasks better than those with sight. Neuroimaging studies have suggested that areas of the brain normally devoted to vision become active when blind persons perform nonvisual tasks, but much remains to be learned about the nature and extent of this phenomenon. A new study published in the open-access journal PLoS Biology finds a strong correlation between superior sound localization skills and increased activity in the brain's visual center.

The task of localizing sound--which requires integrating information available to one ear only (monaural sounds available, for example, when one ear is plugged) or information derived from comparing sounds binaurally--is particularly suited to investigating the neural remapping that seems to follow vision loss. In a previous study, Franco Lepore and colleagues showed that people who lost their sight at an early age could localize sound, particularly from monaural cues, better than those who could see. These findings suggested that areas of the brain normally dedicated to processing visual stimuli (the visual cortex, located at the back of the brain in the occipital lobe) might play a role in processing sound in these individuals.

In the new study, the authors hypothesized that if visual cortex recruitment bolstered auditory function in some individuals, then visual cortex activity would correlate with individual differences in performance, and the degree of activity should predict such differences. Nineteen people--seven sighted and twelve who lost their sight at an early age--were placed in an echo-free chamber and asked to indicate where a sound was coming from, using either one (monaural) or both (binaural) ears.

Only the blind individuals with superior localization skills showed increased ac
'"/>

Contact: Paul Ocampo
pocampo@plos.org
1-415-624-1224
Public Library of Science
24-Jan-2005

Page: 1 2
Related biology news :

1. Genomics study provides insight into the evolution of unique human traits
2. EPA foregoes opportunity to improve nanotechnology oversight
3. Scientists gain important insights into acute promyelocytic leukemia
4. Variant CJD -- Prion amplification breakthrough brings new insights and hopes for a blood test
5. Largest synthetic gene ever built offers insights into anti-malarial drug resistance
6. New insights into the neural basis of anxiety
7. Study of protein folds offers insight into metabolic evolution
8. From ink to optics, study of particle mixtures yields fundamental insights
9. EPA and nanotechnology: Oversight for the 21st century
10. Understanding the global carbon budget -- Woods Hole Research Center expert provides insights
11. Study of damaged gene gives insight into causes of mental illness