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Posted on Aug 26, 2008, 8 p.m.
By Jeanelle Topping
Studies into how the brain compensates for a person's loss of sight has found that the organ demonstrates greater versatility than previously recognized, it has been claimed.
Studies into how the brain compensates for a person's loss of sight has found that the organ demonstrates greater versatility than previously recognized, it has been claimed.
In news that may be of interest to anti-aging physicians, it has never been clear how the senses of touch and hearing improve once vision is gone, Eurekalert notes.
However, research from the Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center found that a loss of sight leads to "profound - but rapidly reversible" changes in the visual cortex.
Published in the journal PLOS One, the study - which involved blindfolding test subjects for five days - illustrates the adaptability of the brain.
Senior author Alvaro Pascual-Leone said: "The speed and dynamic nature of the changes we observed suggest that rather than establishing new nerve connections - which would take a long time - the visual cortex is unveiling abilities that are normally concealed when sight is intact."
In related news, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has suggested that consuming oily fish could protect eyesight.
