Research on neuroplasticity in the visually and hearing impaired using multidimensional neuroimaging technology

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K13083
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Rehabilitation science/Welfare engineering
• Research Institution: National Institute of Information and Communications Technology
• Principal Investigator: Nakai Tomoya 国立研究開発法人情報通信研究機構, 脳情報通信融合研究センター脳情報通信融合研究室, 研究員 (60781250)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 言語 / 計算 / MRI / ワーキングメモリ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Through this research project, we have successfully published a total of four peer-reviewed scientific papers. Among them, the article published in NeuroReport in 2018 introduced MR spectroscopy as part of multidimensional neuroimaging technology and reported plastic brain changes in the bilateral auditory cortex. In the article published in Cortex in 2020, we performed the originally planned language, arithmetic, and working memory tasks on non-right-handed subjects, and showed that the left-right lateralization patterns of the brain in the language and arithmetic tasks were correlated, thereby clarifying the neural mechanisms common to them. These results confirmed the effectiveness of brain function analysis using multidimensional neuroimaging .

Free Research Field

認知神経科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究成果は、従来広く用いられてきた、脳血流変化を測定する機能的MRIに加え、神経伝達物質を測定する磁気共鳴スペクトロスコピーを取り入れることにより、様々な被験者の個人差を異なる角度から検証することができるようにした。このような多次元神経イメージング技術は、今後神経科学分野におけるさらなる応用研究に貢献するとともに、社会の多様性の基盤である個人差を生み出すメカニズムを、脳のレベルから解明することにつながることが期待される。