It looks like quackery, but this is a medical phenomenon. A person recognized as 100% blind, passes a labyrinth with obstacles. Not by hearing or touch. The patient himself claims that while he does not see anything at all, he only intuitively feels where to take a step. Doctors explain - we still have a specific form of vision, but working at a subconscious level.
At first we reacted to this report with disbelief. How much have we seen "psychics" finding something blindfolded. I remember, in particular, a show with a lady who senses colors with her hands. Foggy history, official science and not deciphered.
Only here the new hero does not pretend at all on extrasensory or sixth sense. The 56-year-old resident of Burundi, known by the "code" TN, does not seek fame. Even on the video, shot during the experiment, his face is veiled by a special effect.
As a doctor, TN himself understands: we are dealing with some poorly researched so far hidden possibility of the brain. Only the whole. But for scientists who study its phenomenon, it is "only and all" - the true miracle of nature.
But before talking about the sensational experiences with TN, you need to clarify what kind of blindness he suffers. Because of two strokes, he completely destroyed the visual cortex in both hemispheres, although other parts of the brain remained virtually untouched. TN's eyes are healthy and continue to send signals to the brain, but there's nothing to process them.
Doctors know a lot of patients with a similar diagnosis. However, usually only the visual cortex in one of the hemispheres suffers and, accordingly, the sight disappears in one of the eyes. TN is blind to both eyes and is the first person with such damage described in the scientific literature. And the lack of activity in his visual cortex is confirmed by tomography, so "yes, he peeped! »- does not pass.
TN is unique? Not quite. And this is what makes his case especially valuable for science.
The fact is that physicians have long known the phenomenon of blind vision (blindsight), observed in patients with a similar brain lesion.
It consists in the following: people demonstrate (in experiments with strictly controlled conditions) some responses to visual stimuli, while they say - nothing is visible.
For example, patients with missing vision on one eye are shown in the "dead field". And patients recognize their absence or presence, sometimes even distinguishing a large O from X. Moreover, the subjects themselves explain that they are simply "guessing blindly," but only the percentage of correct answers turns out to be higher than the probability theory.
Scientists reason: in the phenomenon of blind vision, we are dealing with the simplest processing of visual information outside the visual cortex, the signals go around and involve some of the oldest parts of the brain, usually unused.
And this happens on an unconscious level, but the visual information, albeit in a primitive form, influences the choice of a person. Although in terms of visual sensations - before him a solid black. That is, objects as such do not consciously see a person, but feel them.
The abilities of TN have long attracted the attention of researchers. In 2004, we talked about an unnamed blind patient who is able to distinguish the emotional expressions of people's faces without perceiving them visually (that is, only the "black screen" in his brain).
It was then about TN. And even that old research was conducted by the same scientist as the present one - Alan Pegna from the hospital of the University of Geneva (Hopitaux Universitaires de Geneve).
Today many blind people in their travels around the city are forced to rely on sophisticated technical means, trained dogs or a simple white cane. But what if the phenomenon of blind vision can be trained and developed? To some, he can give a chance for a slightly more independent existence, the researchers believe, although the true vision will never replace.
Now, along with Beatrice de Gelder of the University of Tilburg (Tilburg University) and a number of colleagues from different countries, Alan asked TN to put aside his wand and try "just" to walk down the corridor.
"At first he was nervous, said that he could not do it because he was blind," recalls de Gelder. But still the blind man perfectly walked the route, maneuvering between the wall and the tripod from the camera, various small objects scattered across the floor.
TN looked down. He did not see anything consciously, but somehow he recognized the obstacles. After double passage of the corridor, scientists awarded their pupils with applause. It's interesting that TN himself, when they explained to him what he had just done (he had not been told about obstacles in advance), was very surprised.
Maybe it's echolocation? Echoes of steps and even your own breathing could tell the blind where the objects are located.
Beatrice says - this is not the answer. The fact is that echolocation does not work well with small objects. In other words, allowing such a "sonic vision", perhaps, would help TN not crash into the wall, but not bypass the book lying on the floor.
One blind eye specialist who did not take part in this work commented: "It seems that in the real world we can use signals in the brain that are completely unaware". Perhaps, we are talking about the ancient sections of the brain, usually not involved in such an unusual quality. But what paths are used here is still unclear.
Magnetic resonance imaging of the TN brain confirmed double-sided destruction of the visual cortex, but it showed not quite the usual distribution of fibers in the calloused body.
Researchers speak of an "ancient, crude" form of vision similar to our reaction to a flying object (we evade before we consider it). And also - that we, the sighted, act in many situations, submitting to certain subconscious motives, which we do not think about.
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