Tactile spatial resolution in blind braille readers.

摘要: Objective: To determine if blind people have heightened tactile spatial acuity. Background: Recently, studies using magnetic source imaging and somatosensory evoked potentials shown that the cortical representation of reading fingers Braille readers is expanded compared to sighted subjects. Furthermore, visual cortex activated during certain tasks in subjects but not The authors hypothesized used may reflect an enhanced fidelity neural transmission details a stimulus. If so, quantitative limit acuity would be superior people. Methods: employed grating orientation discrimination task which threshold performance accounted for by resolution limits image quantified psychophysical at middle index 15 control Results: mean was significantly ( p = 0.03) lower group (1.04 mm) (1.46 mm). self-reported dominant finger had 0.80 mm, better than other tested. Thresholds non-Braille averaged 1.12 were also subjects’ performances. Conclusion: Superior represent adaptive, behavioral correlate plasticity.