AUTHOR=Araneda Rodrigo , Renier Laurent A. , Rombaux Philippe , Cuevas Isabel , De Volder Anne G. TITLE=Cortical Plasticity and Olfactory Function in Early Blindness JOURNAL=Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience VOLUME=10 YEAR=2016 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/systems-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnsys.2016.00075 DOI=10.3389/fnsys.2016.00075 ISSN=1662-5137 ABSTRACT=

Over the last decade, functional brain imaging has provided insight to the maturation processes and has helped elucidate the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in brain plasticity in the absence of vision. In case of congenital blindness, drastic changes occur within the deafferented “visual” cortex that starts receiving and processing non visual inputs, including olfactory stimuli. This functional reorganization of the occipital cortex gives rise to compensatory perceptual and cognitive mechanisms that help blind persons achieve perceptual tasks, leading to superior olfactory abilities in these subjects. This view receives support from psychophysical testing, volumetric measurements and functional brain imaging studies in humans, which are presented here.