Using this technique, changes in regional tissue volume can be detected on the basis of the deformation field derived from the warping subject to the template image. A voxelwise estimation of the morphological differences Alisertib between the two groups can be acquired after applying a threshold (P < .001, uncorrected) to the statistic maps. Regions with enlarged volume in the brains of blind subjects are mainly localized in the left associated visual cortex, posterior cingulated cortex, and cerebellum,

whereas volume reductions are primarily localized in the left early visual cortex. DBM is an effective method for detecting entire brain structural changes in blindness. Visual deprivation actually alters the local structural organization

during the early critical periods of neurodevelopment. Volume increases outside the occipital lobe detected with DBM may suggest compensatory adaptations. Blindness provides a rare model to investigate the effects of visual experience on the functional and structural organization of the human brain.[1] Many studies have demonstrated that the human brain can adapt to changes in the environment through functional reorganization rather than structural plastic changes. The cross-modal plasticity in functional reorganization induced by vision deprivation has also been reported in previous JAK inhibitor review neuroimaging. Plastic changes have been reported in the visual cortex both in the resting state and imaginary, auditory, and tactile tasks,[1-3] and in the early sensory areas of spared modalities after visual deprivation in early life.[4] Compared with functional studies, investigations on the structural reorganization of the brain in blind subjects are few and have only attracted selleck products research attention in recent years. Evidence from the nonhuman primate literature proves that early visual deprivation leads

to changes in the structural anatomy of the visual cortex at the microscopic level.[5], [6] With the development of the imaging technique, the identification of structural changes in the brain on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans is becoming increasingly important in the study of neurological science. Using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) method,[7] previous MRI studies on blindness have reported decreased gray matter (GM) density and increased white matter (WM) density in the sensory–motor system.[8-10] Another useful tool aside from VBM for the analysis of brain morphology from MRI is the deformation-based morphometry (DBM) method which provides an unbiased automated examination of the entire brain with high regional sensitivity.[11] Unlike VBM which focuses on an analysis of differences in GM and WM, DBM can detect the differences in local structures using high-dimensional nonrigid registration. Leporé and colleagues used this technique with fast fluid registration to examine whole brain volumetric changes in both early- and late-onset blind subjects.