Abstract
Research in blind individuals has shown that after visual loss, the occipital cortex can be reorganized and repurposed for nonvisual perception and cognitive functions. However, no studies have directly examined the involvement of the visual cortex in motor function. Here, we show that a rhythmic foot movement performed by blind individuals can be disrupted by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to their primary and secondary visual cortex (V1/V2). This disruptive effect of TMS was absent for sighted participants. Our result suggests that the visual cortex of blind individuals is involved in sensorimotor control. This is the first experimental evidence that functional repurposing of the human visual cortex is not be restricted to perception and cognitive functions, but also extends to motor function.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Footnotes
Some corrections were made to the text in the abstract, results, discussion, and methods.
