• Hanna Koehler, Ilona Croy, and Anna Oleszkiewicz.
• Department of Neurology, Jena University Hospital, Am Klinikum 1, 07747 Jena, Germany; Biomagnetic Center, Jena University Hospital, Am Klinikum 1, 07747 Jena, Germany; Department of Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Fürstengraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany. Electronic address: hanna.koehler@med.uni-jena.de.
• Neuroscience. 2023 Aug 21; 526: 164174164-174.

AbstractPerceptual experience is shaped by a complex interaction between our sensory systems in which each sense conveys information on specific properties of our surroundings. This multisensory processing of complementary information improves the accuracy of our perceptual judgments and leads to more precise and faster reactions. Sensory impairment or loss in one modality leads to information deficiency that can impact other senses in various ways. For early auditory or visual loss, impairment and/or compensatory increase of the sensitivity of other senses are equally well described. Investigating individuals with deafness (N = 73), early (N = 51), late blindness (N = 49) and corresponding controls, we compared tactile sensitivity using the standard monofilament test on two locations, the finger and handback. Results indicate lower tactile sensitivity in people with deafness and late blindness but not in people with early blindness compared to respective controls, irrespective of stimulation location, gender, and age. Results indicate that neither sensory compensation nor simple use-dependency or a hindered development of the tactile sensory system is sufficient to explain changes in somatosensation after the sensory loss but that a complex interaction of effects is present.Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

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