Good news. It seems that adults are able compensate for loss of vision much more readily than was previously thought. This suggests that the brain is adaptable at least for vision compensation. This is very good news for the majority of us whose vision is deteriorating as we age.
It has long been known that babies and kids are very adaptable. They can rapidly and easily compensate for many changes. For many things, adults are not thought to be able to compensate so easily.
A study in PLoS One (Public Library of Science) suggests that we can compensate for loss of vision. The authors suggest that we have responses such as tactile (touch) that are masked when we can see, but on loss or reduction of vision they are activated.
In the study adults, where blindfolded for up to 5 days and changes in their brains monitored before, while and after blindfolding. Significant changes could be detected by fMRI scans. Both blindfolded and non-blindfolded participants were trained in tactile responses including Braille. The blindfolded group rapidly became much more proficient than the non-blindfolded group.
This research suggests that we may in part compensate for the loss of vision that occurs for most people as they age. We may unconsciously use touch, and other cues to make up for the loss of clear vision of things close to us, as we have more difficulty seeing things that are close up.
[tags]vision loss, compensate, tactile[/tags]
