EEG coherence in early-blind humans during sound localization
- 作者：Leclerc ; Charles ; Segalowitz ; Sidney J. ; Desjardins ; James ; Lassonde ; Maryse ; Lepore ; Franco
- 关键词：Intermodal plasticity ; Intermodal competition ; Auditory event-related potentials ; EEG coherence
- 刊名：Neuroscience Letters
- 出版年：2005
- 期刊代码：52_03043940
- 类别：neu
- 出版时间：March 16, 2005
- 卷：376
- 期：3
- 页码：154-159
- 文件大小：130 K
摘要
Human blind individuals have demonstrated cross-modal plasticity in research over the past decade. In one such study, we showed that early-blind subjects were able to localize sound sources accurately despite the lack of visual input for the calibration of their auditory space. A further ERP study with these subjects also revealed N1 and P3 components during a sound localization task to be more posteriorly distributed than for sighted controls, indicating an involvement of posterior regions in sound localization for blind subjects not present for sighted subjects. In the current study, we analyzed these data for EEG power and coherence in theta, alpha, beta, and gamma frequency bands to see whether blind individuals would show increased coherence reflecting increased connectivity between the central and posterior cortical regions. Blind and sighted subjects did not differ with respect to overall EEG power in any frequency range. However, EEG coherence was significantly increased in blind subjects compared to sighted in the theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands. These results have implications for cortical plasticity affected by sensory deprivation in humans.