In a bizarre never - before - experience case , a 7 - class - old boy who lost the part of his brain all-important for sightcan still see .
The boy , referred to as “ BI ” , lost the primary visual cortex of his brain , which is necessary for imaginativeness , in early babyhood . This was due to a uncommon condition ring medium - chemical chain acyl - Co - A dehydrogenase insufficiency .
Thevisual cortexis responsible for the various sensations that make our visual experience of the Earth . The nerve cell of the primary ocular cortex , absent in the male child ’s brain , are incredibly sensitive to thing like the orientation of a conformation and the direction of motion . People who experience damage to their primary visual cortex suffer from a stipulation known as “ cortical cecity ” , which involves either a partial or total going of sight .
Therefore , the fact that BI has continue normal vision – aside from being very short - sighted – is unheard of . A chemical group of researchers , led byIñaki - Carril Mundiñanofrom Monash University in Melbourne , Australia , decided to inquire . They presented theirfindingsat the one-year meeting of theAustralasian Neuroscience Societyin Sydney .
They prevail a number of run only to find that BI could name objects , identify colors , and discriminate between faces with no problems . He could get hold of out and grab blocks of different sizes , and could also say if brass were glad , fearful , or electroneutral .
" Interestingly , BI has some trouble identifying physical object with a false colour , for instance , a ' blue banana tree ' , but he has no problems with a yellowed banana tree , we reckon he needs both coloring and build information to recognize an object , " Mundiñano told IFLScience in an emailed statement .
One downside of BI ’s visual modality is his short - sightedness – he could only read an eye chart ’s top alphabetic character if he was standing 3 meter ( 10 feet ) away or near .
Nevertheless , what is so alone about BI ’s visual sensation is that it is witting . Some people with a damage ocular cerebral cortex are able to pilot an obstacle course despite being visually impaired , as if they can somehow still see unconsciously . This is have a go at it as “ blindsight ” .
However , BI happily plays soccer and video games . " The novelty here is that BI is solely conscious of what he sees , " order Mundiñano .
So , how is this possible ? Well , because BI was just a infant when he lost his elementary ocular cerebral cortex , it appears that the other parts of his brain compensated , accommodate to offer slew . for sure enough , the team found that BI had more neuronic fibers between his brain ’s pulvinar , which is demand in sensory signaling control , and middle temporal area , which help detect motion – two structures found close to the visual cortex .
The brains of newborn infant and baby are much more flexible and adaptable than adult brains . Mundiñano also told IFLScience that BI ’s level of visual sense would not be the same if he had lost his visual cerebral mantle during adulthood .
Just yesterday , wereportedon the intriguing case of a son whose brain remapped itself in response to a hand transplant . This young research is just another example of the brain ’s amazing capability , and how it continue to storm us even today .
[ H / T : New Scientist ]
