Feeling with the mind's eye: The role of visual imagery in tactile perception

Cross-modal interactions are characteristic of normal perception. In this a rticle, we discuss our work on cross-modal interactions between touch and v ision in normally sighted humans. A region of extrastriate visual cortex, n ear the parieto-occipital fissure, is not only active during but also neces sary for tactile discrimination of grating orientation (but not spatial fre quency). This is consistent with a role for visual imagery in certain aspec ts of tactile perception. These findings have implications for the interpre tation of visual cortical involvement in Braille reading by the blind.