IMT Institutional Repository: No conditions. Results ordered -Date Deposited. 2024-03-29T10:02:28ZEPrintshttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/images/logowhite.pnghttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/2016-09-13T08:20:42Z2016-09-13T08:20:42Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3538This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/35382016-09-13T08:20:42ZNeural correlates of spatial working memory in humans: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study comparing visual and tactile processesRecent studies of neural correlates of working memory components have identified both low-level perceptual processes and higher-order supramodal mechanisms through which sensory information can be integrated and manipulated. In addition to the primary sensory cortices, working memory relies on a widely distributed neural system of higher-order association areas that includes posterior parietal and occipital areas, and on prefrontal cortex for maintaining and manipulating information. The present study was designed to determine brain patterns of neural response to the same spatial working memory task presented either visually or in a tactile format, and to evaluate the relationship between spatial processing in the visual and tactile sensory modalities. Brain activity during visual and tactile spatial working memory tasks was measured in six young right-handed healthy male volunteers by using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results indicated that similar fronto-parietal networks were recruited during spatial information processing across the two sensory modalities—specifically the posterior parietal cortex, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex. These findings provide a neurobiological support to behavioral observations by indicating that common cerebral regions subserve generation of higher order mental representations involved in working memory independently from a specific sensory modality.Emiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itDaniela BoninoClaudio GentiliLorenzo SaniPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.itTomaso Vecchi2016-09-13T08:14:47Z2016-09-13T08:14:47Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3537This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/35372016-09-13T08:14:47ZCombination of event-related potentials and functional magnetic resonance imaging during single-letter readingThis work proposes a mathematical approach for combining event-related potentials (ERPs) and functional magnetic resonance images (fMRI). Data were separately recorded during the same event-related experimental design, consisting of visually presented single letters and non-alphabetic symbols, that had to be either simply observed (passive condition) or read aloud (active condition). This protocol was useful for exploring the neural correlates of reading processes. Healthy adults participated in the experiment. Averaged ERPs were decomposed by independent component analysis; low resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) was applied to estimate the current density distribution maps of each independent component. fMRI images time series were analyzed by multiple linear regression. ERP-fMRI correspondence was quantified by computing the Euclidean distance between LORETA local maxima and clusters of significantly activated fMRI voxels. During reading aloud of letters, that is clearly the task most similar to natural reading conditions, significant electrical and hemodynamic response was observed in the left medial frontal gyrus (BA 6) and left middle temporal gyrus (BA 22/39) just before articulation and in the bilateral middle superior temporal gyrus (BA 22/37) during and after verbal-motor production. These results indicate that the middle-superior temporal gyrus plays a crucial and multifunctional role in grapheme-phoneme matchingSilvia CasarottoAnna M. BianchiSergio CeruttiNicola VanelloEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itClaudio GentiliLorenzo SaniDaniela BoninoMario GuazzelliPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.itLuigi LandiniGiuseppe A. Chiarenza2016-06-09T10:53:27Z2016-09-13T10:09:53Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3498This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/34982016-06-09T10:53:27ZA Combined ERPs and fMRI Approach to Investigate the Neural Correlates of Reading in the Human BrainSilvia CasarottoA.M. BianchiSergio CeruttiNicola VanelloEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itClaudio GentiliLorenzo SaniDaniela BoninoMario GuazzelliPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.itLuigi LandiniGiuseppe A. Chiarenza2016-06-01T13:05:55Z2016-09-13T10:07:41Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3496This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/34962016-06-01T13:05:55ZNeural correlates of visual and tactile spatial detection in sighted and congenitally-blind subjectsDaniela BoninoEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itLorenzo SaniTomaso VecchiPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.it2016-03-23T12:04:49Z2016-09-13T10:11:38Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3311This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/33112016-03-23T12:04:49ZStudy of Reading Processes with ERPs and ER-FMRISilvia CasarottoA.M. BianchiSergio CeruttiDaniela BoninoClaudio GentiliEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itLorenzo SaniNicola VanelloMario GuazzelliPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.itLuigi LandiniGiuseppe A. Chiarenza2016-03-23T11:57:59Z2016-09-13T10:14:13Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3310This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/33102016-03-23T11:57:59ZVisual and tactile spatial discrimination activates the dorsal cortical pathway: a fMRI study in sighted and congenitally blind humansEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itDaniela BoninoLorenzo SaniClaudio GentiliNicola VanelloLuigi LandiniMario GuazzelliTomaso VecchiPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.it2016-03-23T10:54:48Z2016-09-13T10:14:50Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3309This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/33092016-03-23T10:54:48ZSupramodal organization in the "visual" cortical pathways as assessed by functional magnetic resonance in humansEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itNicola VanelloDaniela BoninoClaudio GentiliLorenzo SaniSabrina DantiNicola SgambelluriJames V. HaxbyLuigi LandiniTomaso VecchiMario GuazzelliAntonio BicchiPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.it2016-03-23T10:19:49Z2016-09-13T10:13:35Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3305This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/33052016-03-23T10:19:49ZNeural correlates of working memory during visual and tactile spatial discrimination in sighted and congenitally-blind subjectsClaudio GentiliDaniela BoninoEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itLorenzo SaniMario GuazzelliPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.itTomaso Vecchi2016-03-23T10:17:52Z2016-09-13T10:11:22Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3304This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/33042016-03-23T10:17:52ZSupramodal cortical organization of the dorsal stream during visual and tactile spatial discrimination in sighted and congenitally-blind subjectsDaniela BoninoEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itLorenzo SaniClaudio GentiliLuigi LandiniMario GuazzelliTomaso VecchiPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.it2016-02-29T12:03:35Z2016-09-13T10:11:11Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3167This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/31672016-02-29T12:03:35ZEmpathy modulates mirror system recruitment in
sighted and congenitally blind individualsDaniela BoninoEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itMario GuazzelliPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.it2016-02-29T12:01:07Z2016-09-13T10:13:03Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3166This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/31662016-02-29T12:01:07ZBrain correlates of functional and dysfunctional
beliefs: an fmrI study of cognitive reappraisalIoana CristeaClaudio GentiliEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itGiuseppina RotaDaniela BoninoDaniel DavidPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.itMario Guazzelli2016-02-29T11:19:00Z2016-09-13T10:09:38Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3164This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/31642016-02-29T11:19:00ZThe role of imagery in visual and tactile spatial discrimination in congenitally blind and sighted individualsDaniela BoninoEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itClaudio GentiliLorenzo SaniMario GuazzelliPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.itTomaso Vecchi2016-02-29T09:33:52Z2016-09-13T10:07:24Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3156This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/31562016-02-29T09:33:52ZNeural correlates of mental representation of space in sighted and congenitally blind individuals as measured by fMRIDaniela BoninoEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itLorenzo SaniTomaso VecchiPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.it2016-02-22T11:11:21Z2016-09-13T09:57:42Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3106This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/31062016-02-22T11:11:21ZIs visual experience necessary for the functional development of the mirror neuron system? An fMRI study in sighted and congenitally blind individualsDaniela BoninoEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itLorenzo SaniTomaso VecchiMario GuazzelliJames V. HaxbyLuciano FadigaPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.it2016-02-22T11:06:25Z2016-09-13T10:01:54Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3105This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/31052016-02-22T11:06:25ZFunctional Exploration Studies of Supramodal Organization in the Human Extrastriate CortexIn the context of the Touch-Hapsys project, our group investigated whether the two main components of the cortical visual systems, i.e., the ventral ”what” pathway and the dorsal ”where” pathways, are devoted merely to the processing of visual information or rather they are organized in a supramodal fashion, that is, they are able to process information independently from the sensory modality through which such an information reaches the brain. Sighted and congenitally blind individuals underwent fMRI scan examinations while performing distinct visual and/or tactile experimental tasks involving object recognition, movement detection and spatial localization. These functional studies revealed that both sighted subjects and individuals with no previous visual experience rely on these supramodal brain areas of the ventral and dorsal extrastriate cortex to acquire normal knowledge about objects and interact effectively with the surrounding world.Emiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itDaniela BoninoLorenzo SaniPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.it2016-02-22T10:50:55Z2016-09-13T09:57:53Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3103This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/31032016-02-22T10:50:55ZMotor familiarity modulates mirror neurons system activity during auditory action recognition in sighted and congenitally blind individualsDaniela BoninoEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itLorenzo SaniTomaso VecchiMario GuazzelliJames V. HaxbyLuciano FadigaPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.it2016-02-22T10:48:55Z2016-09-13T10:02:18Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3102This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/31022016-02-22T10:48:55ZFunctional development of the mirror neuron system does not require visual experience: an fMRI study in sighted and congenitally blind individualsEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itDaniela BoninoLorenzo SaniTomaso VecchiMario GuazzelliJames V. HaxbyLuciano FadigaPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.it2016-02-22T10:44:47Z2016-09-13T09:57:16Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3101This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/31012016-02-22T10:44:47ZTactile spatial working memory activates the dorsal extrastriate cortical pathway in congenitally blind individualsIn sighted individuals, both the visual and tactile version of the same spatial working memory task elicited neural responses in the dorsal "where" cortical pathway (Ricciardi et al., 2006). Whether the neural response during the tactile working memory task is due to visually-based spatial imagery or rather reflects a more abstract, supramodal organization of the dorsal cortical pathway remains to be determined. To understand the role of visual experience on the functional organization of the dorsal cortical stream, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) here we examined brain response in four individuals with congenital or early blindness and no visual recollection, while they performed the same tactile spatial working memory task, a one-back recognition of 2D and 3D matrices. The blind subjects showed a significant activation in bilateral posterior parietal cortex, dorsolateral and inferior prefrontal areas, precuneus, lateral occipital cortex, and cerebellum. Thus, dorsal occipito-parietal areas are involved in mental imagery dealing with spatial components in subjects without prior visual experience and in response to a non-visual task. These data indicate that recruitment of the dorsal cortical pathway in response to the tactile spatial working memory task is not mediated by visually-based imagery and that visual experience is not a prerequisite for the development of a more abstract functional organization of the dorsal stream. These findings, along with previous data indicating a similar supramodal functional organization within the ventral cortical pathway and the motion processing brain regions, may contribute to explain how individuals who are born deprived of sight are able to interact effectively with the surrounding world.Daniela BoninoEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itLorenzo SaniClaudio GentiliNicola VanelloMario GuazzelliPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.it2016-02-19T13:01:31Z2016-09-13T09:59:05Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3094This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/30942016-02-19T13:01:31ZImagery and spatial processes in blindness and visual impairmentThe 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.Zaira CattaneoTomaso VecchiCesare CornoldiIrene MammarellaDaniela BoninoEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.it2015-12-23T15:17:45Z2016-09-13T09:55:21Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/2976This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/29762015-12-23T15:17:45ZDo we really need vision? How blind people "see" the actions of othersObserving and learning actions and behaviors from others, a mechanism crucial for survival and social interaction, engages the mirror neuron system. To determine whether vision is a necessary prerequisite for the human mirror system to develop and function, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to compare brain activity in congenitally blind individuals during the auditory presentation of hand-executed actions or environmental sounds, and the motor pantomime of manipulation tasks, with that in sighted volunteers, who additionally performed a visual action recognition task. Congenitally blind individuals activated a premotor–temporoparietal cortical network in response to aurally presented actions that overlapped both with mirror system areas found in sighted subjects in response to visually and aurally presented stimuli, and with the brain response elicited by motor pantomime of the same actions. Furthermore, the mirror system cortex showed a significantly greater response to motor familiar than to unfamiliar action sounds in both sighted and blind individuals. Thus, the mirror system in humans can develop in the absence of sight. The results in blind individuals demonstrate that the sound of an action engages the mirror system for action schemas that have not been learned through the visual modality and that this activity is not mediated by visual imagery. These findings indicate that the mirror system is based on supramodal sensory representations of actions and, furthermore, that these abstract representations allow individuals with no visual experience to interact effectively with others.Emiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itDaniela BoninoLorenzo SaniTomaso VecchiMario GuazzelliJames V. HaxbyLuciano FadigaPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.it2015-11-24T12:56:57Z2016-09-13T09:53:34Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/2934This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/29342015-11-24T12:56:57ZFunctional inhibition of the human middle temporal cortex affects non-visual motion perception: a repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation study during tactile speed discriminationThe visual motion-responsive middle temporal complex (hMT+) is activated during tactile and aural motion discrimination in both sighted and congenitally blind individuals, suggesting a supramodal organization of this area. Specifically, non-visual motion processing has been found to activate the more anterior portion of the hMT+. In the present study, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was used to determine whether this more anterior portion of hMT+ truly plays a functional role in tactile motion processing. Sixteen blindfolded, young, healthy volunteers were asked to detect changes in the rotation velocity of a random Braille-like dot pattern by using the index or middle finger of their right hand. rTMS was applied for 600 ms (10 Hz, 110% motor threshold), 200 ms after the stimulus onset with a figure-of-eight coil over either the anterior portion of hMT+ or a midline parieto-occipital site (as a control). Accuracy and reaction times were significantly impaired only when TMS was applied on hMT+, but not on the control area. These results indicate that the recruitment of hMT+ is necessary for tactile motion processing, and thus corroborate the hypothesis of a ‘supramodal’ functional organization for this sensory motion processing area.Emiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itDemis BassoLorenzo SaniDaniela BoninoTomaso VecchiPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.itCarlo Miniussi2015-11-18T11:23:28Z2016-09-12T11:46:49Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/2923This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/29232015-11-18T11:23:28ZA MR Compatible Sensing Glove for Brain StudiesNicola VanelloValentina HartwigMario TesconiEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itGiuseppe ZuponeAlessandro TognettiDaniela BoninoEnzo Pasquale ScilingoFabrizio CutoloGiulio GiovannettiPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.itDanilo De RossiLuigi Landini2015-11-18T11:03:28Z2016-09-13T09:51:45Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/2919This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/29192015-11-18T11:03:28ZFMRI Compatible Sensing Glove for Hand Gesture MonitoringHere we describe and validate a fabric sensing glove for hand finger movement monitoring. After a quick calibration procedure, and by suitably processing of the outputs of the glove, it is possible to estimate hand joint angles in real time. Moreover, we tested the fMRI compatibility of the glove and ran a pilot fMRI experiment on the neural correlates of handshaking during human-to-human and human-to-robot interactions. Here we describe how the glove can be used to monitor correct task execution and to improve modeling of the expected hemodynamic responses during fMRI experimental paradigms.Nicola VanelloValentina HartwigEnzo Pasquale ScilingoDaniela BoninoEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itAlessandro TognettiPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.itDanilo De RossiLuigi LandiniAntonio Bicchi2015-11-18T10:34:31Z2017-08-04T10:19:56Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/2913This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/29132015-11-18T10:34:31ZSpatial processing in the human dorsal pathway relies on supramodal functional connectivity mapsLuca Cecchettiluca.cecchetti@imtlucca.itGiacomo HandjarasGiulio BernardiDaniela BoninoEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.it2015-11-10T13:21:36Z2016-09-13T09:51:04Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/2884This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/28842015-11-10T13:21:36ZIncreased BOLD Variability in the Parietal Cortex and Enhanced Parieto-Occipital Connectivity during Tactile Perception in Congenitally Blind IndividualsPrevious studies in early blind individuals posited a possible role of parieto-occipital connections in conveying nonvisual information to the visual occipital cortex. As a consequence of blindness, parietal areas would thus become able to integrate a greater amount of multimodal information than in sighted individuals. To verify this hypothesis, we compared fMRI-measured BOLD signal temporal variability, an index of efficiency in functional information integration, in congenitally blind and sighted individuals during tactile spatial discrimination and motion perception tasks. In both tasks, the BOLD variability analysis revealed many cortical regions with a significantly greater variability in the blind as compared to sighted individuals, with an overlapping cluster located in the left inferior parietal/anterior intraparietal cortex. A functional connectivity analysis using this region as seed showed stronger correlations in both tasks with occipital areas in the blind as compared to sighted individuals. As BOLD variability reflects neural integration and processing efficiency, these cross-modal plastic changes in the parietal cortex, even if described in a limited sample, reinforce the hypothesis that this region may play an important role in processing nonvisual information in blind subjects and act as a hub in the cortico-cortical pathway from somatosensory cortex to the reorganized occipital areas.Andrea LeoGiulio BernardiGiacomo HandjarasDaniela BoninoEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.it2015-11-10T11:38:27Z2016-09-13T09:47:40Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/2869This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/28692015-11-10T11:38:27ZThe effects of visual control and distance in modulating peripersonal spatial representationIn the presence of vision, finalized motor acts can trigger spatial remapping, i.e., reference frames transformations to allow for a better interaction with targets. However, it is yet unclear how the peripersonal space is encoded and remapped depending on the availability of visual feedback and on the target position within the individual’s reachable space, and which cerebral areas subserve such processes. Here, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to examine neural activity while healthy young participants performed reach-to-grasp movements with and without visual feedback and at different distances of the target from the effector (near to the hand–about 15 cm from the starting position–vs. far from the hand–about 30 cm from the starting position). Brain response in the superior parietal lobule bilaterally, in the right dorsal premotor cortex, and in the anterior part of the right inferior parietal lobule was significantly greater during visually-guided grasping of targets located at the far distance compared to grasping of targets located near to the hand. In the absence of visual feedback, the inferior parietal lobule exhibited a greater activity during grasping of targets at the near compared to the far distance. Results suggest that in the presence of visual feedback, a visuo-motor circuit integrates visuo-motor information when targets are located farther away. Conversely in the absence of visual feedback, encoding of space may demand multisensory remapping processes, even in the case of more proximal targets.Chiara RenziEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itDaniela BoninoGiacomo HandjarasTomaso VecchiPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.it2015-11-10T11:27:57Z2016-09-13T09:47:52Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/2865This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/28652015-11-10T11:27:57ZBeyond motor scheme: a supramodal distributed representation in the action-observation networkThe representation of actions within the action-observation network is thought to rely on a distributed functional organization. Furthermore, recent findings indicate that the action-observation network encodes not merely the observed motor act, but rather a representation that is independent from a specific sensory modality or sensory experience. In the present study, we wished to determine to what extent this distributed and ‘more abstract’ representation of action is truly supramodal, i.e. shares a common coding across sensory modalities. To this aim, a pattern recognition approach was employed to analyze neural responses in sighted and congenitally blind subjects during visual and/or auditory presentation of hand-made actions. Multivoxel pattern analyses-based classifiers discriminated action from non-action stimuli across sensory conditions (visual and auditory) and experimental groups (blind and sighted). Moreover, these classifiers labeled as ‘action’ the pattern of neural responses evoked during actual motor execution. Interestingly, discriminative information for the action/non action classification was located in a bilateral, but left-prevalent, network that strongly overlaps with brain regions known to form the action-observation network and the human mirror system. The ability to identify action features with a multivoxel pattern analyses-based classifier in both sighted and blind individuals and independently from the sensory modality conveying the stimuli clearly supports the hypothesis of a supramodal, distributed functional representation of actions, mainly within the action-observation network.Emiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itGiacomo HandjarasDaniela BoninoTomaso VecchiLuciano FadigaPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.it2015-11-10T11:26:23Z2016-09-13T09:45:30Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/2867This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/28672015-11-10T11:26:23ZMind the blind brain to understand the sighted one! Is there a supramodal cortical functional architecture?Abstract While most of the research in blind individuals classically has focused on the compensatory plastic rearrangements that follow loss of sight, novel behavioral, anatomical and functional brain studies in individuals born deprived of sight represent a powerful tool to understand to what extent the brain functional architecture is programmed to develop independently from any visual experience. Here we review work from our lab and others, conducted in sighted and congenitally blind individuals, whose results indicate that vision is not a mandatory prerequisite for the brain cortical organization to develop and function. Similar cortical networks subtend visual and/or non-visual perception of form, space and movement, as well as action recognition, both in sighted and in congenitally blind individuals. These findings support the hypothesis of a modality independent, supramodal cortical organization. Visual experience, however, does play a role in shaping specific cortical sub-regions, as loss of sight is accompanied also by cross-modal plastic phenomena. Altogether, studying the blind brain is opening our eyes on how the brain develops and works.Emiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itDaniela BoninoSilvia PellegriniPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.it2015-11-10T10:57:50Z2016-09-13T09:43:34Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/2862This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/28622015-11-10T10:57:50ZSpatial imagery relies on a sensory independent, though sensory sensitive, functional organization within the parietal cortex: A fMRI study of angle discrimination in sighted and congenitally blind individualsAbstract Although vision offers distinctive information to space representation, individuals who lack vision since birth often show perceptual and representational skills comparable to those found in sighted individuals. However, congenitally blind individuals may result in impaired spatial analysis, when engaging in ‘visual’ spatial features (e.g., perspective or angle representation) or complex spatial mental abilities. In the present study, we measured behavioral and brain responses using functional magnetic resonance imaging in sighted and congenitally blind individuals during spatial imagery based on a modified version of the mental clock task (e.g., angle discrimination) and a simple recognition control condition, as conveyed across distinct sensory modalities: visual (sighted individuals only), tactile and auditory. Blind individuals were significantly less accurate during the auditory task, but comparable-to-sighted during the tactile task. As expected, both groups showed common neural activations in intraparietal and superior parietal regions across visual and non-visual spatial perception and imagery conditions, indicating the more abstract, sensory independent functional organization of these cortical areas, a property that we named supramodality. At the same time, however, comparisons in brain responses and functional connectivity patterns across experimental conditions demonstrated also a functional lateralization, in a way that correlated with the distinct behavioral performance in blind and sighted individuals. Specifically, blind individuals relied more on right parietal regions, mainly in the tactile and less in the auditory spatial processing. In sighted, spatial representation across modalities relied more on left parietal regions. In conclusions, intraparietal and superior parietal regions subserve supramodal spatial representations in sighted and congenitally blind individuals. Differences in their recruitment across non-visual spatial processing in sighted and blind individuals may be related to distinctive behavioral performance and/or mental strategies adopted when they deal with the same spatial representation as conveyed through different sensory modalities.Daniela BoninoEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.itGiulio BernardiLorenzo SaniClaudio GentiliTomaso VecchiPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.it