Multisystemic Increment of Cortical Thickness in Congenital Blind Children

• DOI: 10.1093/texcom/tgaa071
• Publication Date: 2020-10-10T03:44:30Z
• Authors: Alberto Inuggi; Anna Pichiecchio; Benedetta Ciacchini; Sabrina Signorini; Federica Morelli; Monica Gori
• Keywords: Cortical blindness

Abstract It has been shown that the total or partial lack of visual experience is associated with a plastic reorganization at brain level, more prominent in congenital blind. Cortical thickness (CT) studies, to date involving only adult subjects, showed blind have thicker cortex than age-matched sighted population while late do not. This was explained as deviation from physiological mechanism initial neural growth followed by pruning that, children, might be reduced their deprivation, thus determining cortex. Since those studies involved adults, it unknown when these changes may appear and whether they are related impairment degree. To address this question, we compared CT among 28 2 12 years, impairments different degree an population. Vertex-wise analysis but not low vision one, had cortical surface few clusters located occipital, superior parietal, anterior-cingular, orbito-frontal, mesial precentral regions. Our data suggest effect on early phenomenon, multisystemic, occurs blindness almost complete.