How the brain repurposes visual motion areas to process moving sounds after early blindness
Anatomical, Neural, and Computational Constraints On Sensory Cross-Modal Plasticity Following Early Blindness
This project looks at how adults who became blind early in life use parts of their brain that normally process visual motion to detect moving sounds.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Georgia Institute of Technology NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Atlanta, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11142444 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
As a participant, I would do hearing and perception tests to measure how I sense moving sounds. Researchers will take functional MRI to see which brain areas respond, diffusion MRI to map connections between regions, and MR spectroscopy to measure local brain chemistry. They will combine these scans with computer models to link brain structure and signals to my performance on sound-motion tasks. Results from early blind adults will be compared to typical patterns to understand how visual cortex gets repurposed.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are adults (21+) who were born blind or lost sight very early in life, can complete hearing tests, and are eligible for MRI scanning.
Not a fit: People with normal vision, those who lost vision later in life, children, or anyone unable to undergo MRI scanning are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could guide better rehabilitation approaches and sound-based devices that help people who are blind perceive motion.
How similar studies have performed: Prior research has shown visual motion areas can respond to auditory motion in early blindness, but combining psychophysics with dMRI, fMRI, MRS, and computational modeling is a more comprehensive and relatively novel approach.
Where this research is happening
Atlanta, United States
- Georgia Institute of Technology — Atlanta, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Park, Woon Ju — Georgia Institute of Technology
- Study coordinator: Park, Woon Ju
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.