* Relationship Between Cortical Thickness and Functional Activation in the Early Blind.
- Early blindness results in both structural and functional changes of the brain. However, these changes have rarely been studied in relation to each other. We measured alterations in cortical thickness (CT) caused by early visual deprivation and their relationship with cortical activity. Structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 12 early blind (EB) humans and 12 sighted controls (SC). Experimental conditions included one-back tasks for auditory localization and pitch identification, and a simple sound-detection task. Structural and functional data were analyzed in a whole-brain approach and within anatomically defined regions of interest in sensory areas of the spared (auditory) and deprived (visual) modalities. Functional activation during sound-localization or pitch-identification tasks correlated negatively with CT in occipital areas of EB (calcarine sulcus, lingual gyrus, superior and middle occipital gyri, and cuneus) and in nonprimary auditory areas of SC. These results suggest a link between CT and activation and demonstrate that the relationship between cortical structure and function may depend on early sensory experience, probably via selective pruning of exuberant connections. Activity-dependent effects of early sensory deprivation and long-term practice are superimposed on normal maturation and aging. Together these processes shape the relationship between brain structure and function over the lifespan.
=>機能の, 関数の, 機能する, 機能上の, 実用的な, 機能的な
Overview of adj functional
The adj functional has 6 senses (first 2 from tagged texts)
1. (3) functional -- (designed for or capable of a particular function or use; "a style of writing
in which every word is functional"; "functional architecture")
2. (1) functional -- (involving or affecting function rather than physiology; "functional deafness")
3. functional -- (relating to or based on function especially as opposed to structure; "the problem
now is not a constitutional one; it is a functional one"; "delegates elected on a functional rather
than a geographical basis")
4. functional, usable, useable, operable, operational -- (fit or ready for use or service; "the
toaster was still functional even after being dropped"; "the lawnmower is a bit rusty but still
usable"; "an operational aircraft"; "the dishwasher is now in working order")
5. functional -- (designed for or adapted to a function or use; "functional education selects
knowledge that is concrete and usable rather than abstract and theoretical"; "functional
architecture")
6. running, operative, functional, working -- ((of e.g. a machine) performing or capable of
performing; "in running (or working) order"; "a functional set of brakes")
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