TY  - JOUR
Y1  - 2008///
SN  - 0149-7634
PB  - Elsevier
UR  - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763408000638
KW  - Imagery; Visuo-spatial processes; Supramodal processes; Blindness; Visual impairments
ID  - eprints3094
JF  - Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
A1  - Cattaneo, Zaira
A1  - Vecchi, Tomaso
A1  - Cornoldi, Cesare
A1  - Mammarella, Irene
A1  - Bonino, Daniela
A1  - Ricciardi, Emiliano
A1  - Pietrini, Pietro
IS  - 8
N2  - The objective of this review is to examine and evaluate recent findings on cognitive functioning (in particular imagery processes) in individuals with congenital visual impairments, including total blindness, low-vision and monocular vision. As one might expect, the performance of blind individuals in many behaviours and tasks requiring imagery can be inferior to that of sighted subjects; however, surprisingly often this is not the case. Interestingly, there is evidence that the blind often employ different cognitive mechanisms than sighted subjects, suggesting that compensatory mechanisms can overcome the limitations of sight loss. Taken together, these studies suggest that the nature of perceptual input on which we commonly rely strongly affects the organization of our mental processes. We also review recent neuroimaging studies on the neural correlates of sensory perception and mental imagery in visually impaired individuals that have cast light on the plastic functional reorganization mechanisms associated with visual deprivation.
N1  - Special section: The European Workshop in Imagery and Cognition: Neurocognition and Visual Imagery
VL  - 32
TI  - Imagery and spatial processes in blindness and visual impairment
AV  - none
SP  - 1346 
EP  -  1360
ER  -