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Short term light deprivation increases tactile spatial acuity in humans

From the Dipartimento di Scienze Neurologiche e della Visione (Dr. Facchini), Sezione di Fisiologia Umana, Università degli studi di Verona; and Dipartimento di Psicologia (Dr. Aglioti), Università di Roma "La Sapienza," and Centro Ricerche di Neuropsicologia IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Salvatore M. Aglioti, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Roma "La Sapienza," Via dei Marsi 78, 00185, Roma e IRCCS, Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00185 Roma, Italy; e-mail: salvatoremaria.aglioti{at}uniroma1.it

The effect of short-term light deprivation on tactile spatial acuity was evaluated by asking 28 adult humans to perform a grating orientation task. The 14 subjects who were kept for 90 minutes in complete dark showed, immediately after deprivation, a reversible improvement of tactile spatial acuity. No acuity change was observed in the 14 nondeprived subjects. Results indicate that even a short-term visual deprivation may disclose highly dynamic plastic interactions between visual and tactile systems.

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