Читать книгу The Behavior of Animals - Группа авторов - Страница 60

Sensory space is represented in the brain by topographic maps. From lesion and regeneration studies in amphibians it is known that the visual map of the retina in the optic tectum can be either compressed or expanded depending on the available tectal room and on the disposable retinal input. For example, if in a frog half of the retina of one eye is destroyed, a blown-up map of the remaining retina will regenerate in the entire contralateral tectum (Udin 1977).

Although such regeneration capability is not conferable to mammals, sensory cortical maps, too, may expand or shrink depending on the available cortical space and the need for perceptual skills. The phenomenon is called functional remodeling. Studies applying neuroimaging showed in the somatosensory cortex of string instrument players an expansion of the representation of the active digits to the detriment of the less active thumb (Elbert et al. 1995).