Cross-Modal Language Processing in the Visual Cortex of the Congenitally Blind

In congenital blindness, the visual Cortex supports novel non-visual functions through mechanisms of cross-modal plasticity. Several fMRI studies suggest that cross-modal activation is rdated to language processing, including semantic representation. However, it is unknown if these cross-modal responses reflect particular semantic categories. Further, it is unknown the extent to which these responses relate to the StruCtural and metabolic alterations of visual cottex that accompany blindness.