[Njabs-talk] An inquiry from a Princeton University student
EVELYN E. VALDEZ
tweetybaby19 at comcast.net
Wed Jun 9 02:32:11 UTC 2010
Hi Ms. Jerilyn Higgins,
I am a rising senior at Princeton University and am
conducting a neuroscience experiment with Uri Hasson's lab that involves blind
participants as part of my senior thesis research. I was wondering if I could
obtain permission to tell your members of if you would be interested in telling
your members about my experiment (note: participants would be compensated for
their time). I'm sure this all sounds really vague and you're probably wondering
what my experiment would entail, so I've included more information
below.
More about the
experiment: The experiment
focuses on language processing in the blind and uses fMRI brain scans that have
been proven to be quite safe. Based on a previous literature review that I have
completed, it has been shown that the visual part of the brain in the blind is
still used, even though its not used for visual purposes. In fact, the visual
cortex is used even more by those who are blind than sighted persons. Blind
persons instead use the visual part of their brain for things such as Braille
reading and verbal comprehension. It is my hope that my research will add even
more to this notion of 'plasticity' or 'developed new functions' within the
blind visual cortex and may even discover new ways in which those who are blind
use the visual part of their brain. These novel functions have been used in
creating potential rehabilitative devices for the blind (such as echolocation
devices). I hope that my research may in some way contribute to this knowledge
that could be used for blind rehabilitative devices and could also further
illuminate the way in which language processing works in the terms of brain
networks in the blind.
The
procedure: In
order to obtain this goal of examining language processing in the blind,
subjects will listen to a story while in the fMRI scanner. They will only be
required to lay still and listen (no other tasks will be asked of them while in
the scanner). This will help determine if the blind visual cortex is a "high" or
"low" level area, which is currently highly debated. Participants will also be
asked to complete a survey at the end which will examine social connectedness
and contribute to blindness in the area of global health.
Compensation/subject requirements: I think some of your members may find it interesting
to participate in the experiment, since they will learn more about the new and
exciting current research that is being done in this field. The total required
time would be 1.5-2 hours and participants would be compensated at a rate of
$20/hour, in addition to coverage of travel expenses. I'm looking for
participants who were born blind or became blind before the age of 2 and are
18-65 years of age. The experiment would occur on Friday afternoons, but other
time slots can be scheduled if Friday afternoons are not
possible.
Please let me know if you would allow me to let those
who are apart of the NFB Central Jersey Chapter learn about my
experiment and if so, how I would go about this. Thank you very much for your
time. Feel free to either email me back or to call me (610)
500-1150.
Looking
forward to speaking with you,
Best,
Alana D'Alfonso,
'11
More information about the NJABS-Talk
mailing list