Ella Striem-Amit|Laurent Cohen|Stanislas Dehaene|Amir Amedi
Reading with Sounds: Sensory Substitution Selectively Activates the Visual Word Form Area in the Blind
Hebrew University of Jerusalem|Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital|Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris|Sorbonne Université|Inserm|University of Paris-Saclay|Collège de France|Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission|Cognitive Neuroimaging Lab|Hebrew University of Jerusalem
using visualtoauditory sensorysubstitution algorithm congenitally fully blind adults taught read recognize complex images using soundscapessounds topographically representing images fmri used examine key questions regarding visual word form area vwfa selectivity letters visual categories without visual experience feature tolerance reading novel sensory modality plasticity scripts learned adulthood blind activated vwfa specifically selectively processing letter soundscapes relative textures visually complex object categories relative mental imagery semanticcontent controls vwfa recruitment reading soundscapes emerged 2 hr training blind adult novel script therefore vwfa shows category selectivity regardless input sensory modality visual experience longterm familiarity expertise script vwfa may perform flexible taskspecific rather sensoryspecific computation possibly linking letter shapes phonology