Ophthalmology and Vision Science

Neuroscience of Visual Impairment

Our brain can rapidly process visual information, taking just one second to interpret what we see. The area responsible for quickly organizing these visual perceptions is known as the ventral-temporal cortex, also referred to as the visual brain. Surprisingly, research has shown that blind individuals also utilize the mapping within the visual brain. Despite lacking visual input, blind individuals' visual brain demonstrates unique responses to different categories. This indicates that blind individuals also rely on this brain region to discern between categories, despite never having visual experiences.