posted on: july 10, 2012 - 9:31pm
People who are born deaf
process the sense of touch differently than people who are born with normal
hearing, according to research funded by the National Institutes of Health It
adds to a growing list of discoveries that confirm the impact of experiences
and outside influences in molding the developing brain. The study is published
in the July 11 online issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.
The researchers,
Christina M. Karns, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research associate in the Brain
Development Lab at the University of Oregon, Eugene, and her colleagues, show
that deaf people use the auditory cortex to process touch stimuli and visual
stimuli to a much greater degree than occurs in hearing people. The finding
suggests that since the developing auditory cortex of profoundly deaf people is
not exposed to sound stimuli, it adapts and takes on additional sensory
processing tasks.
"This research shows
how the brain is capable of rewiring in dramatic ways," said James F.
Battey, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., director of the NIDCD. "
沒有留言:
發佈留言