Cross-modal reorganization of human cortical functions

Recent technological development has opened fascinating opportunities in re search on cognitive functions of the human brain. For example, cortical rep resentations of sensory functions and their reorganization, which have been studied thoroughly in animals, are far better understood in humans now tha n they were only a decade ago, Hemodynamic and electromagnetic studies have demonstrated that a modality-specific brain area that is totally deprived of its normal sensory input becomes responsive to stimulation of other moda lities,The functional significance of this crossmodal activation was recent ly indicated by,for example, studies showing that the occipital cortex of t he blind is activated by sound changes, when the task is to detect these ch anges, Moreover, transcranial magnetic stimulation applied to the occipital cortex of blind individuals results in distortions and omissions of letter s in Braille text being read by the subject, Contrary to prevailing views, crossmodal neural reorganization might, as shown by recent results, take pl ace even in the mature human brain.