Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28280879›Full record

ArticleExperimental brain research2017

Enhanced verbal abilities in the congenitally blind.

Valeria Occelli, Simon Lacey, Careese Stephens, Lotfi B Merabet, K Sathian

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Experimental brain research, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Valeria OccelliDepartment of Neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
Simon LaceyDepartment of Neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
Careese StephensDepartment of Neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
Lotfi B MerabetThe Laboratory for Visual Neuroplasticity, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
K SathianDepartment of Neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA. krish.sathian@emory.edu.

Funding

CROSS-MODAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN VISION AND TOUCHR01EY012440 · NEI · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI SATHIAN, KRISHNANKUTTY · 1999 to 2014
$5.0M
Audio-Haptic Virtual Environments for Large-Scale Navigation in the BlindR01EY019924 · NEI · MASSACHUSETTS EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY · PI MERABET, LOTFI · 2010 to 2018
$3.5M
NEI NIH HHS R01 EY012440NEI NIH HHS R01 EY019924
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Numerous studies have found that congenitally blind individuals have better verbal memory than their normally sighted counterparts. However, it is not known whether this reflects superiority of verbal or memory abilities. In order to distinguish between these possibilities, we tested congenitally blind participants and normally sighted control participants, matched for age and education, on a range of verbal and spatial tasks. Congenitally blind participants were significantly better than sighted controls on all the verbal tasks but the groups did not differ significantly on the spatial tasks. Thus, the congenitally blind appear to have superior verbal, but not spatial, abilities. This may reflect greater reliance on verbal information and the involvement of visual cortex in language processing in the congenitally blind.

Indexed as

LanguageAdultAgedBlindnessFemaleHumansImaginationMaleMemory, Short-TermMental RecallMiddle AgedSpace PerceptionSpatial MemorySpeech PerceptionVerbal LearningYoung AdultDigit spanImageryMemorySpatial

Identifiers

PMID28280879
PMCPMC5436932

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.