Brain Reorganization in Late Adulthood: Rapid Left-to-Right Switch of Handedness Through Memory-Drawing Training

The neural correlates of hand preference are still debatable, and the very few studies on the mechanisms of enforced change of handedness from left to right are all restricted to early childhood. We were able to address the question of retraining handedness in late adulthood for the first time, well outside the accepted critical period for brain plasticity, through a unique training utilizing the complex motor task of blind memory-guided drawing, in a totally blind, congenitally left-handed man. Ten hours of this Cognitive-Kinesthetic Drawing Training, which the author initially developed to drive neuroplasticity in blindness rehabilitation, was sufficient to generate a profound switch in the cortical lateralization of motor control. This study provides new insights into the neuroplasticity of motor control architecture. The results are of high relevance to the long-standing debate about the sources of hemispheric asymmetry. The unprecedented effect on handedness of the rapid Cognitive-Kinesthetic Drawing Training implies a powerful potential of this training for further rehabilitation domains, such as the rehabilitation of stroke or trauma affecting hand control

Drawing enhances cross-modal memory plasticity in the human brain: a case study in a totally blind adult

In a memory-guided drawing task under blindfolded conditions, we have recently used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to demonstrate that the primary visual cortex (V1) may operate as the visuo-spatial buffer, or “sketchpad,” for working memory. The results implied, however, a modality-independent or amodal form of its operation. In the present study, to validate the role of V1 in non-visual memory, we eliminated not only the visual input but all levels of visual processing by replicating the paradigm in a congenitally blind individual. Our novel Cognitive-Kinesthetic method was used to train this totally blind subject to draw complex images guided solely by tactile memory. Control tasks of tactile exploration and memorization of the image to be drawn, and memory-free scribbling were also included. FMRI was run before training and after training. Remarkably, V1 of this congenitally blind individual, which before training exhibited noisy, immature, and non-specific responses, after training produced full-fledged response time-courses specific to the tactile-memory drawing task. The results reveal the operation of a rapid training-based plasticity mechanism that recruits the resources of V1 in the process of learning to draw. The learning paradigm allowed us to investigate for the first time the evolution of plastic re-assignment in V1 in a congenitally blind subject. These findings are consistent with a non-visual memory involvement of V1, and specifically imply that the observed cortical reorganization can be empowered by the process of learning to draw

Occipital network for figure/ground organization

To study the cortical mechanism of Wgure/ ground categorization in the human brain, we employed fMRI and the temporal-asynchrony paradigm. This paradigm is able to eliminate any di Verential activation for local stimulus features, and thus to identify only global perceptual interactions. Strong segmentation of the image into diVerent spatial conWgurations was generated solely from temporal asynchronies between zones of homogeneous dynamic noise. The Wgure/ground conWguration was a single geometric Wgure enclosed in a larger surround region. In a control condition, the Wgure/ground organization was eliminated by segmenting the noise Weld into many identical temporal-asynchrony stripes. The manipulation of the type of perceptual organization triggered dramatic reorganization in the cortical activation pattern. The Wgure/ground conWguration generated suppression of the ground representation (limited to early retinotopic visual cortex, V1 and V2) and strong activation in the motion complex hMT+/ V5+; conversely, both responses were abolished when the Wgure/ground organization was eliminated. These results suggest that Wgure/ground processing is mediated by topdown suppression of the ground representation in the earliest visual areas V1/V2 through a signal arising in the motion complex. We propose a model of a recurrent cortical rchitecture incorporating suppressive feedback that operates in a topographic manner, forming a Wgure/ground categorization network distinct from that for “pure” scene segmentation and thus underlying the perceptual organization of dynamic scenes into cognitively relevant components

Estimating neural signal dynamics in the human brain

Although brain imaging methods are highly effective for localizing the effects of neural activation throughout the human brain in terms of the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) response, there is currently no way to estimate the underlying neural signal dynamics in generating the BOLD response in each local activation region (except for processes slower than the BOLD time course). Knowledge of the neural signal is critical if spatial mapping is to progress to the analysis of dynamic information flow through the cortical networks as the brain performs its tasks. We introduce an analytic approach that provides a new level of conceptualization and specificity in the study of brain processing by non-invasive methods. This technique allows us to use brain imaging methods to determine the dynamics of local neural population responses to their native temporal resolution throughout the human brain, with relatively narrow confidence intervals on many response properties. The ability to characterize local neural dynamics in the human brain represents a significant enhancement of brain imaging capabilities, with potential applications ranging from general cognitive studies to assessment of neuropathologies

The Role of the Visual Arts in Enhancing the Learning Process

With all the wealth of scientific activities, there remains a certain stigma associated with careers in science, as a result of the inevitable concentration on narrow specializations that are inaccessible to general understanding. Enhancement of the process of scientific learning remains a challenge, particularly in the school setting. While direct explanation seems the best approach to expedite learning any specific subject, it is well known that the ability to deeply absorb facts and concepts is greatly enhanced by placing them in a broader context of relevance to the issues of everyday life and to the larger goals of improvement of the quality of life and advancement to a more evolved society as a whole. If the sciences can be associated with areas of artistic endeavor, they may be viewed as more accessible and favorable topics of study. There is consequently an urgent need for research in the relationship between learning and experience in the arts because both art education and scientific literacy remain at an inadequate level even in economically advanced countries. The focus of this review is the concept that inspiration is an integral aspect of the artistic experience, both for the artist and for the viewer of the artwork. As an integrative response, inspiration involves not only higher cortical circuitry but its integration with the deep brain structures such as limbic system and medial frontal structures, which are understood to mediate the experience of emotions, motivational rewards, and the appreciation of the esthetic values of the impinging stimuli. In this sense, inspiration can turn almost any occupation in life into an avocation, a source of satisfaction in achieving life goals. Conversely, when inspiration is lacking, the motivation to learn, adapt, and prosper is impeded. Thus, inspiration may be viewed as a potent aspect of human experience in linking art and science

Analysis of human vergence dynamics

Disparity vergence is commonly viewed as being controlled by at least two mechanisms, an open-loop vergence-specific burst mechanism analogous to the ballistic drive of saccades, and a closed-loop feedback mechanism controlled by the disparity error. We show that human vergence dynamics for disparity jumps of a large textured field have a typical time course consistent with predominant control by the open-loop vergence-specific burst mechanism, although various subgroups of the population show radically different vergence behaviors. Some individuals show markedly slow divergence responses, others slow convergence responses, others slow responses in both vergence directions, implying that the two vergence directions have separate control mechanisms. The faster time courses usually had time-symmetric velocity waveforms implying open-loop burst control, while the slow response usually had time-asymmetric velocity waveforms implying closed-loop feedback control. A further type of behavior in a distinct subpopulation is a compound anomalous divergence response consisting of an initial convergence movement followed by a large corrective divergence movement with time courses implying closed-loop feedback control. The closed-loop response for slow responses to disparity steps exhibited pronounced oscillations in the velocity trace, implying the involvement of a sampled-data system with a rate of about 3 samples/s. This analysis of the variety of human vergence responses thus contributes substantially to the understanding of the oculomotor control mechanisms underlying the generation of vergence movements

Analysis of Neural-BOLD Coupling Through Four Models of the Neural Metabolic Demand

The coupling of the neuronal energetics to the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) response is still incompletely understood. To address this issue, we compared the fits of four plausible models of neurometabolic coupling dynamics to available data for simultaneous recordings of the local field potential and the local BOLD response recorded from monkey primary visual cortex over a wide range of stimulus durations. The four models of the metabolic demand driving the BOLD response were: direct coupling with the overall LFP; rectified coupling to the LFP; coupling with a slow adaptive component of the implied neural population response; and coupling with the non-adaptive intracellular input signal defined by the stimulus time course. Taking all stimulus durations into account, the results imply that the BOLD response is most closely coupled with metabolic demand derived from the intracellular input waveform, without significant influence from the adaptive transients and nonlinearities exhibited by the LFP waveform

3D discomfort from vertical and torsional disparities in natural images

The two major aspects of camera misalignment that cause visual discomfort when viewing images on a 3D display are vertical and torsional disparities. While vertical disparities are uniform throughout the image, torsional rotations introduce a range of disparities that depend on the location in the image. The goal of this study was to determine the discomfort ranges for the kinds of natural image that people are likely to take with 3D cameras rather than the artificial line and dot stimuli typically used for laboratory studies. We therefore assessed visual discomfort on a five-point scale from ‘none’ to ‘severe’ for artificial misalignment disparities applied to a set of full-resolution images of indoor scenes. For viewing times of 2 s, discomfort ratings for vertical disparity in both 2D and 3D images rose rapidly toward the discomfort level of 4 (‘severe’) by about 60 arcmin of vertical disparity. Discomfort ratings for torsional disparity in the same image rose only gradually, reaching only the discomfort level of 3 (‘strong’) by about 50 deg of torsional disparity. These data were modeled with a second-order hyperbolic compression function incorporating a term for the basic discomfort of the 3D display in the absence of any misalignments through a Minkowski norm. These fits showed that, at a criterion discomfort level of 2 (‘moderate’), acceptable levels of vertical disparity were about 15 arcmin. The corresponding values for the torsional disparity were about 30 deg of relative orientation