Danger in the dark : the role of visual experience in the spatial mapping of nociception : neuropsychological studies in congenitally blind and normally sighted individuals

Abstract

This thesis was aimed to investigate how the position of a nociceptive stimulus applied on the body is coded in the brain and what is the role of visual experience in the development of these localization mechanisms. This was investigated by comparing the abilities of normally sighted people to those of people who never experienced vision, i.e. congenitally blind, in perceiving and localizing radiant-heat stimuli applied on two separate body parts. We showed that sighted participants localize nociceptive stimuli according to both their position on the body surface but also according to the location of the stimulated body part in external space. On the contrary, although congenitally blind participants are also able to use a spatial external coordinate system, they preferentially rely on the location of the stimuli according to their position on the body. This suggests that the way we perceive and localize nociceptive stimuli is shaped by visual experience.(PSYE - Sciences psychologiques et de l'éducation) -- UCL, 202