Sensory and Motor Plasticity (SAMP) Lab

How does the brain develop in the absence of key sensory or motor experience? What facets of brain capacity and architecture are independent from any specific modality or motor output, allowing them to plastically support compensatory skills? And what does that reveal about the underlying representation and processing in these regions?

The Sensory and Motor Plasticity (SAMP) Lab, led by principal investigator Ella Striem-Amit, utilizes state-of-the-art behavioral and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques to study people who experienced early sensory and motor deprivation: people born blind, deaf or without hands. This allows us to explore the general principles of how our brain represents information beyond sensory and motor specifics and how it develops and adapts based on experience.

Visit the Sensory and Motor Plasticity Lab website for more information.