Concepedia

Tactile Sensory Substitution Studies

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2004 · 214 citations · 8 references

TL;DR

Sensory substitution research began four decades ago to test whether adult brains can learn new sensory modalities, revealing that while devices such as cameras, accelerometers, and microphones are available, the key challenge remains developing effective brain‑machine interfaces. The report focuses on vision and vestibular substitution systems. The authors employed camera, accelerometer, and microphone arrays to convey visual, vestibular, and auditory information to the brain, seeking a functional brain‑machine interface. The study confirms that adults can acquire new sensory modalities, as first demonstrated in 1969.

Abstract

Forty years ago a project to explore late brain plasticity was initiated that was to lead into a broad area of sensory substitution studies. The questions at that time were: Can a person who has never seen learn to see as an adult? Is the brain sufficiently plastic to develop an entirely new sensory system? The short answer to both questions is yes, first clearly demonstrated in 1969 ((Bach-y-Rita et al., 1969)). To reach that conclusion, it was first necessary to find a way to get visual information to the brain. That took many years and is still the most challenging aspect of the research and the development of practical sensory substitution and augmentation systems. The sensor array is not a problem: a TV camera for blind persons; an accelerometer for persons with vestibular loss; a microphone for deaf persons. These are common and fully developed devices. The problem is the brain-machine interface (BMI). In this short report, only two substitution systems are discussed, vision and vestibular substitution.