Abstract
Sensory skills can be augmented through training and technological support. This process is underpinned by neural plasticity in the brain. We previously demonstrated that auditory-based sensory augmentation can be used to assist self-localization during locomotion. However, the neural mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain unclear. Here, by using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we aimed to identify the neuroplastic reorganization induced by sensory augmentation training for self-localization during locomotion. We compared activation in response to auditory cues for self-localization before, the day after, and 1 month after 8 days of sensory augmentation training in a simulated driving environment. Self-localization accuracy improved after sensory augmentation training, compared with the control (normal driving) condition; importantly, sensory augmentation training resulted in auditory responses not only in temporal auditory areas but also in higher-order somatosensory areas extending to the supramarginal gyrus and the parietal operculum. This sensory reorganization had disappeared by 1 month after the end of the training. These results suggest that the use of auditory cues for self-localization during locomotion relies on multimodality in higher-order somatosensory areas, despite substantial evidence that information for self-localization during driving is estimated from visual cues on the proximal part of the road. Our findings imply that the involvement of higher-order somatosensory, rather than visual, areas is crucial for acquiring augmented sensory skills for self-localization during locomotion.
Highlights
Regression analysis revealed that learning rate for lane-keeping accuracy was slower under SA condition (0.036; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.29–0.42) than under ND condition (0.055; 95% CI, 0.044–0.067), and that the learning plateau was lower under SA condition (0.31; 95% CI, 0.30–0.32) than under ND condition (0.37; 95% CI, 0.37–0.38)
Regression analysis revealed that learning rate for lane-keeping smoothness was slower under SA condition (0.20; 95% CI, 0.15–0.25) than under ND condition (0.55; 95% CI, 0.32–0.78) and that the learning plateaus were comparable under SA (0.057; 95% CI, 0.056–0.057) and ND (0.056; 95% CI, 0.055–0.056) conditions
We previously demonstrated the potential of an auditory-based self-localization assistance system for locomotion in a simulated driving environment; this demonstration pioneered the application of sensory augmentation to time-sensitive daily-life situations in healthy individuals (Ueda et al, 2019)
Summary
Sensory skills can be augmented through training and technological support. Various devices have been developed to facilitate sensory augmentation. Such devices detect environmental information by using electronic sensors and convert it into stimuli delivered to a sensory organ that is not innately associated with the information. One device translates visual scenes recorded by a digital camera into auditory stimuli by converting elevation to pitch and brightness to loudness (Meijer, 1992). After training with such a device, users are able to discriminate several visual objects without seeing them (StriemAmit et al, 2012). Another research group has developed a waist-belt-type vibration device that
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