中国神经再生研究(英文版)

中国神经再生研究(英文版) ›› 2015, Vol. 10 ›› Issue (11): 1717-1719.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.169612

• 观点:神经损伤修复保护与再生 •    下一篇

使用感官代换器件作为模型系统研究人类跨通道可塑性

  

  • 收稿日期:2015-08-15 出版日期:2015-12-07 发布日期:2015-12-07

Use of sensory substitution devices as a model system for investigating cross-modal neuroplasticity in humans

Amy C. Nau*, Matthew C. Murphy, Kevin C. Chan*   

  1. UPMC Eye Center, Ophthalmology and Visual Science Research
    Center, Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA (Nau AC, Murphy MC, Chan KC)
    Department of Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering,
    University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA (Chan KC)
    McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of
    Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA (Nau AC, Chan KC)
    Louis J. Fox Center for Vision Restoration, University of Pittsburgh,
    Pittsburgh, PA, USA (Nau AC, Murphy MC, Chan KC)
    Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh and
    Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA (Chan KC)
  • Received:2015-08-15 Online:2015-12-07 Published:2015-12-07
  • Contact: Amy C. Nau, O.D. or Kevin C. Chan, Ph.D.,anau@korbassociates.com or chuenwing.chan@fulbrightmail.org.
  • Supported by:

    This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Contracts P30-EY008098 and T32-EY017271-06 (Bethesda, MD); United States Department of Defense DM090217 (Arlington, VA); Alcon Research Institute Young Investigator Grant (Fort Worth, TX); Eye and Ear Foundation (Pittsburgh, PA); Research to Prevent Blindness (New York, NY); Aging Institute Pilot Seed Grant, University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA); and Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Ocular Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Ophthalmology, Louis J. Fox Center for Vision Restoration, University of Pittsburgh and UPMC (Pittsburgh, PA). We thank all collaborators who contributed to our research papers upon which the present commentary is based.

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摘要：

失明，为人类神经系统可塑性研究提供了一个机会，在这方面的开创性研究工作往往会大幅度的修改到视觉皮层。该文表明降低视觉通路完整性出现在后天失明的情况。目前已经开始研究某些疾病状态发生的变化，或继发于多发性硬化症和青光眼患者及视神经炎患者的失明，迄今的研究表示，脑白质通道的严重损伤代表了疾病的严重程度，这让我们得出一个结论，视觉系统作为一个整体是十分容易蜕变的。检测跨通道脑可塑性现象的平行研究表明，中枢神经系统的重塑是可能的，例如，大脑中一些被剥夺的正常传入区域能够重建自身接受替代的感官通道。大量文献及研究事例表明，失明状态下的视觉皮层会对触觉和听觉刺激作出反应。视力减退或失明后成人大脑仍然能够重构结构和功能的概念给研究人员和患者带来了希望，也许是通过机制或生物方法真的可以恢复视力！

Abstract:

Blindness provides an unparalleled opportunity to study plasticity of the nervous system in humans. Seminal work in this area examined the often dramatic modifications to the visual cortex that result when visual input is completely absent from birth or very early in life. Our lab and others have demonstrated that decreases in visual pathway integrity occur in those with acquired blindness. More recent studies have begun to examine the changes occurring with certain disease states: patients suffering from optic neuritis secondary to multiple sclerosis and glaucoma, all so far demonstrate deterioration of the white matter tract architecture as a function of disease severity. This leads to the conclusion that the visual system as a whole is profoundly susceptible to degeneration even with small amounts of vision loss. On the surface, these investigations appear to have dire implications for vision restoration efforts. Yet, parallel studies which examine the phenomenon of cross-modal plasticity suggest that a remodeling of the central nervous system is possible, such that areas of the brain which have been deprived of normal afferent input are able to reconstitute themselves to be receptive to alternative sensory channels. The literature is rife with examples of investigations which show that the visual cortex will react to tactile and auditory stimuli in the blind but will be less readily recruited in sighted patients. Moreover, cross-modal interactions have been demonstrated well beyond the traditional “critical period” and into late adulthood, albeit perhaps in a less robust fashion. The notion that the adult brain is still capable of significant structural and functional remodeling after vision loss remains a beacon of hope for researchers and patients alike who dream of recovering vision through mechanical or biological means.