Task Selectivity as a Comprehensive Principle for Brain Organization

Amir Amedi; Shir Hofstetter; Shachar Maidenbaum; Benedetta Heimler

doi:10.1016/j.tics.2017.03.007

Task Selectivity as a Comprehensive Principle for Brain Organization

Trends Cogn Sci. 2017 May;21(5):307-310. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2017.03.007. Epub 2017 Apr 3.

Authors

Amir Amedi¹, Shir Hofstetter², Shachar Maidenbaum², Benedetta Heimler²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Neurobiology, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hadassah Ein-Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel; The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Research, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hadassah Ein-Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel; The Cognitive Science Program, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91220, Israel; Sorbonne Université, Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC), Université Paris 06, Institute de la Vision, Unité Mixte de Recherche en Santé (UMRS) 968, Paris 75012, France. Electronic address: Amir.Amedi@ekmd.huji.ac.il.
² Department of Medical Neurobiology, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hadassah Ein-Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel; The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Research, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hadassah Ein-Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel.

PMID: 28385460
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2017.03.007

Abstract

How do the anatomically consistent functional selectivities of the brain emerge? A new study by Bola and colleagues reveals task selectivity in auditory rhythm-selective areas in congenitally deaf adults perceiving visual rhythm sequences. Here, we contextualize this result with accumulating evidence from animal and human studies supporting sensory-independent task specializations as a comprehensive principle shaping brain (re)organization.

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MeSH terms

Auditory Cortex
Auditory Perception / physiology*
Brain / physiology*
Brain Mapping
Deafness / physiopathology*
Hearing
Humans
Photic Stimulation