Decoding natural sounds in early “visual” cortex of congenitally blind individuals

Vetter, P., Bola, Ł., Reich, L., Bennett, M., Muckli, L. and Amedi, A. (2020) Decoding natural sounds in early “visual” cortex of congenitally blind individuals. Current Biology, 30(15), 3039-3044.e2. (doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.05.071) (PMID:32559449) (PMCID:PMC7416107)

Abstract

Complex natural sounds, such as bird singing, people talking, or traffic noise, induce decodable fMRI activation patterns in early visual cortex of sighted blindfolded participants [1]. That is, early visual cortex receives non-visual and potentially predictive information from audition. However, it is unclear whether the transfer of auditory information to early visual areas is an epiphenomenon of visual imagery or, alternatively, whether it is driven by mechanisms independent from visual experience. Here, we show that we can decode natural sounds from activity patterns in early “visual” areas of congenitally blind individuals who lack visual imagery. Thus, visual imagery is not a prerequisite of auditory feedback to early visual cortex. Furthermore, the spatial pattern of sound decoding accuracy in early visual cortex was remarkably similar in blind and sighted individuals, with an increasing decoding accuracy gradient from foveal to peripheral regions. This suggests that the typical organization by eccentricity of early visual cortex develops for auditory feedback, even in the lifelong absence of vision. The same feedback to early visual cortex might support visual perception in the sighted [1] and drive the recruitment of this area for non-visual functions in blind individuals [2, 3].

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Bennett, Mr Matthew and Muckli, Professor Lars
• Authors: Vetter, P., Bola, Ł., Reich, L., Bennett, M., Muckli, L., and Amedi, A.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Psychology & Neuroscience
• Journal Name: Current Biology
• Publisher: Elsevier (Cell Press)
• ISSN: 0960-9822
• ISSN (Online): 1879-0445
• Published Online: 18 June 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Current Biology 30(15): 3039-3044.e2
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
304518		Human Brain Project SGA 2	Lars Muckli	European Commission (EC)	N/A	NP - Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (CCNi)
307180		Human Brain Project SGA_3	Lars Muckli	European Commission (EC)	945539	NP - Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (CCNi)