[Nfbv-announce] MRI auditory study description

[Fredric Schroeder]

>From Maurice Peret [mailto:mauriceperet at gmail.com] 


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On 9/20/12, JK Kim <crossmodal.plasticity at gmail.com wrote:

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 *Participate in a paid research study on blindness!*


 *About the study*:


 The brain of blind individuals is different from that of the sighted 
 in that part of the brain called the occipital cortex which normally 
 processes visual information in the sighted is involved in processing 
 of information gathered from other senses such as touch and hearing.  
 This phenomenon, called crossmodal plasticity, is understood as 
 changes resulting from long-term visual deprivation in the blind and 
 has been shown in performance of non-visual tasks such as Braille 
 reading, verbal tasks, shape discrimination, and sound localization.  
 We hope to further our understanding of crossmodal plasticity by 
 examining other behavioral domains that have not yet been 
 investigated.  Findings of our studies will not only have potential 
 implications for blindness rehabilitation but also contribute significantly
to our understanding of how the human brain works.


 We are currently looking for blind volunteers who would be interested 
 in participating in the study that will examine melody processing in 
 the blind, more specifically, how long-term visual deprivation affects 
 the way blind people process sound in general and pitch in particular.  
 This study will consist of one behavioral and one functional magnetic 
 resonance imaging (fMRI) session.  During both of these sessions, you 
 will be asked to listen to sequences of tones and make simple 
 perceptual judgments on them.  Findings of this study will help 
 understand superior pitch abilities that the blind possess compared to 
 the sighted, and further knowledge on musical processing in the blind.


 Each of these sessions will last approximately 2 hours, and all the 
 participants will be reimbursed for travel expenses (provided that 
 they reside in areas of or nearby Washington, DC) and participation in 
 the studies.  MRI has been shown to be a safe imaging technique as no 
 known side effects have been reported.

 *Who we are looking for*: Blind individuals who are ages between 18 
 and 65 and have no residual vision or light sensitivity.

 *Location*: The study will take place at the Medical Center of 
 Georgetown University located in Washington DC.



 *Contact Us*: If you are interested, please email JK Kim at 
 crossmodal.plasticity at gmail.com or call (202)687-4981