Visual experience is crucial for the development of neural processing. For example, alpha activity development is a vision-dependent mechanism. Indeed, studies report no alpha activity is present in blind adults. Nevertheless, studies have not investigated the developmental trajectory of this activity in infants and children with blindness. Here, we hypothesize that the difference in neural activity of blind compared to sighted subjects is: absent at birth, progressive with age, specifically occipital and linked to a gradual motor impairment. Therefore, we consider spectral power of resting-state EEG and its association with motor impairment indices, in blind subjects and in sighted controls between 0 and 11 years of age. Blind subjects show posterior alpha activity during the first three years of life, although weaker and slower maturing compared to sighted subjects. The first great differentiation between blind and sighted subjects occurs between 3 and 6 years of age. Starting in this period, reduced alpha activity increases the probability of motor impairment in blind subjects, likely because of impaired perception/interaction. These results show that visual experience mediates the neural mechanisms generating alpha oscillations during the first years of life, suggesting that it is a sensitive period for the plasticity of this process.

视觉体验对于神经处理的发展至关重要。例如，阿尔法活动的发展是一种依赖于视觉的机制。事实上，研究表明成年人盲人中不存在α活性。然而，研究尚未调查失明婴儿和儿童的这种活动的发育轨迹。在这里，我们假设盲人与视力正常的受试者相比，神经活动的差异是：出生时不存在，随着年龄的增长而逐渐增强，特别是枕骨神经活动，并与逐渐的运动障碍有关。因此，我们考虑了 0 至 11 岁失明受试者和视力正常对照者的静息态脑电图谱功率及其与运动障碍指数的关联。盲人受试者在生命的前三年表现出后阿尔法活性，尽管与视力正常的受试者相比较弱且成熟较慢。盲人和视力正常的受试者之间的第一次巨大区别发生在 3 至 6 岁之间。从这个时期开始，阿尔法活动减少会增加盲人受试者运动障碍的可能性，这可能是由于感知/互动受损。这些结果表明，视觉体验介导了生命最初几年产生阿尔法振荡的神经机制，表明这是该过程可塑性的敏感时期。