Bionic Implant allows blind man to "see" for first time in 30 years

http://themindunleashed.org/2014/10/blind-man-sees-33-years-thanks-bionic-eye-implant.html

It is limited... no doubt about it. But, after thirty years of darkness... just to be able to see light again... I can only imagine how that must feel for him.

 

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Much better was done at least 15 years ago with no need for implanting anything by Paul Bach-y-Rita. I have exchanged Emails with him. He is a great pioneer in "sensory substitution." His main point is that the brain, especially in the young, is "plastic" - can and always does learn by interaction - not by passive observation.*

There was an electrode array, usually on the nearly all the back of his blind subjects while they walked around in a room. That array was driven by the output of small electronic camera strapped to side of subject's head - low resolution stimulation. For first hour or so the stimulation was perceived as very mild irritations on the back, but then after ACTIVE tactile engagement with the objects in the room, the stimulation was perceived as low resolution image. Subject could for example tell the telephone from the telephone book it was siting on by his tactile vision alone.**

Note also all blind using a cane, perceive the environment at the tip of the cane, not the vibrations and forces in their hand the cane is giving them.

The subject's report that his perception was visual was tested this way:
The camera could be quickly "zoomed" (by remote command as I recall). When other wise blind subject's camera was viewing a ball, (basket ball a I recall) it was zoomed, and instantly the subject "ducked" as any norimally sighted person would if visual image showed a basket ball hurtling towards your head.

* This is also shown by a classic experiment with two cat from same litter. They were put in baskets hung at the ends of a centrally pivoted beam before their eyes were even opened for the first time. Bottom of both baskets almost touch the floor, but only one had holes in it for the legs of that cat to touch the floor. Soon that cat was turning the beam and the circular wall was with the same visual field for both cats (perhaps just many identical vertical stripes).

It was already well known that cats must have visual stimulation during a very short period (only a couple of weeks, as I recall) or they will never have normal functional vision. This experiment, as Paul said, let only one actively develop his vision. The passive rider was exposed to exactly the same visual stimulation, but did not acquire normal vision.

If the pattern on the circular wall was only vertical strips even the walking cat had very poor vision for horizontal strips, and other more normal images.

**Note that subject's movements gives the clever brain sort of a "synthetic aperture" higher resolution image. As an aside: I also note that pigeon have eyes on the sides of their head - nearly 360 vision8***, but no stereoscopic over lap. I am of the opinion they too are getting a 3D understanding of their environment (depth data) via "synthetic aperture."

*** Great for early detections of silently approaching cat. This little over lap of two visual fields is generally the case for herbivores and never true of carnivores, which need good depth perception when bouncing on their prey.

 

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