How Blindfolded People Can 'See'
Oct. 15, 2006 <p> -- TOUCH ACTIVATES VISUAL AREA OF BRAIN When a person can't see, even for a short time, visual areas in the brain begin responding to touch, showing that the brain starts to "see" the world through the fingers instead of the eyes. Researchers from Harvard Medical School performed a dramatic experiment to show just how quickly the brain adapts. They blindfolded people with normal vision for just five days to simulate total blindness. Brain scans of these people showed that areas of the brain devoted to the eyes started responding to touch. Scientists believe that connections between touch and sight are always there, waiting to be unmasked when injury occurs. These findings were presented this weekend at the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting in Atlanta.
BRAIN TAPS TOES TO MUSIC Your brain is tapping its toes along to music even if your feet aren't moving, new research from McGill University shows. Scientists performed brain scans on people listening to music, and they found that the brain areas that control movements like toe tapping were active even when people just listened to the music. In fact, the rhythm alone was enough to trigger the brain activation. Researchers think the complex rhythms in music activate the brain and that this activation could be the reason we all have an irresistible urge to dance when our favorite songs come on. These findings were presented this weekend at the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting in Atlanta.
NEW GENDER GENE IDENTIFIED Mutations in a gene called RSPO1 can change girls to boys, researchers in Italy find. The new study, published in the journal Nature Genetics, is based on an Italian family in which four brothers are genetically female, having two X chromosomes, but they developed into boys anyway. Such sex changes are extremely rare, and usually they happen because the typical gene determining maleness migrates from the Y chromosome onto an X chromosome. This is the first time that scientists have found an example of human males who are male without the usual gene that determines male development.
STAT is a brief look at the latest medical research and is compiled by Joanna Schaffhausen, who holds a doctorate in behavioral neuroscience. She works in the ABC News Medical Unit, evaluating medical studies, abstracts and news releases.
