What is cross-modal plasticity?

• A. When a sensory system is absent, inputs from a different sensory system may expand in terms of cortical recruitment
• B. When you train hearing to convert vision to sound
• C. When a sensory system declines with age
• D. When all senses are equally active

Answer: (A)

Cross-modal plasticity is the brain’s ability to reorganize how it processes sensory information when one sense is missing or reduced. When a sensory system is absent, inputs from a different sensory system can expand in terms of cortical recruitment, meaning the brain repurposes areas normally devoted to one sense to process information from another. For example, in people who are blind, regions that would normally handle vision can become responsive to sound or touch, helping support tasks like reading Braille or localizing sounds. This reorganization happens through mechanisms such as unmasking existing connections and strengthening alternate neural pathways, illustrating the brain’s flexible use of its networks to compensate for reduced input.