News Brief by Prachi Sharma
Scientists
at Hebrew University's Amedi Lab for Brain and Multisensory Research are challenging
the current view of the functionality of the human brain. Currently, it is
thought that the brain is divided into specific regions that perform distinct
tasks after being activated by sensory input. However, by using Sensory
Substitution Devices (SSDs), tools that change the destinations of sensory
information, this performance specialization theory has been challenged.
The team studied the effects of the SSDs on
brains in blind subjects, who could use the tool to "see" by hearing or touching. Specifically, blind subjects are able to create a mental
visual image through a distinct soundscape that is translated through a webcam
or smartphone. Researchers were
interested in discerning whether the subjects would use the same
visual-word-form-area sub-region of the brain as sighted people.
Researchers
identified that there is a "Visual Number Form Area" of the brain in
the blind, illustrating that the same visual regions of the brain seen in
sighted people were used by the blind subjects, including those who were
congenitally blind. The notion that this visual number form area is distinct
from the visual-word-form-area suggests that vision is not essential for the
development of these areas. Thus, this research demonstrates a promising new
branch of visual rehabilitation and lends key insights into human brain
evolution.
Hebrew University of Jerusalem. "Scientists map brains of the blind to solve mysteries of human brain specialization." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 23 January 2015. .
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