Nature Communications (Dec 2018)

Neural representation of visual concepts in people born blind

  • Ella Striem-Amit,
  • Xiaoying Wang,
  • Yanchao Bi,
  • Alfonso Caramazza

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07574-3
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 1
pp. 1 – 12

Abstract

Read online

How are abstract, imperceptible concepts such as ‘freedom’ represented in the brain? Here, the authors use fMRI in people born blind to compare the neural responses for abstract concepts, concrete concepts like ‘rainbow’ which in blind people lack sensory qualities, and concrete concepts sensorily accessible to the blind.