La percepción en nuestro cerebro III

Summary

This transcript explores the remarkable adaptive capabilities of the human brain when faced with sensory impairments. It delves into how individuals with damaged vision, like the artist discussed, compensate by enhancing other senses, such as touch, to gather information. The brain’s ability to adjust and create personalized maps of the world, such as for braille readers, is highlighted. The script also touches on how the brain processes sensory data like sound and sight, emphasizing the unique abilities of individuals, including a blind man with extraordinary auditory memory, showcasing the powerful interplay between the senses and the brain’s adaptability.

Takeaways

• 😀 The world seems fragmented and disjointed for the individual described, as they experience their environment through static, frozen frames with large gaps in between.
• 😀 Simple daily activities, like walking down the street, can be terrifying due to the overwhelming number of moving objects that cannot be understood in the intermittent frames.
• 😀 The brain, even when damaged, has an impressive ability to adapt and compensate for lost senses by relying on others, such as touch replacing sight in some cases.
• 😀 The artist compensates for his visual impairment by actively using his sense of touch to examine objects, almost like using his eyes, showcasing the brain's adaptability.
• 😀 The tactile process involves special cells in the skin that convert touch into electrical signals sent to the spinal cord and then to the brain, where they are processed.
• 😀 The brain's sensory map is distorted, prioritizing areas like the hands, lips, and face. These distortions allow for more detailed sensory experiences in certain body parts.
• 😀 People who read Braille, for example, use their fingertips to gather information, which causes the area in the brain that processes touch to grow and occupy other parts of the sensory map.
• 😀 The brain's neural maps shape a personalized vision of the world based on individual experiences and development, which means no two brain maps are identical.
• 😀 Similar to how vision is processed, sound is also a physical phenomenon, translated by the ear into electrical signals, which the brain decodes to understand characteristics like pitch, volume, and direction.
• 😀 The process of sound localization is similar to how the brain coordinates both eyes to create a sense of depth, where it compares signals from each ear to determine the location of sounds.
• 😀 The individual with prodigious musical talent and memory, despite being blind, can recite a boxing match heard only once, showcasing how the brain's auditory capabilities can be finely tuned to absorb and process sound in extraordinary ways.

Q & A

What is the primary way in which the artist adapts to her visual impairment?

The artist adapts to her visual impairment by using her sense of touch. She compensates for her limited sight by actively examining objects with her fingers, similar to how one would use their eyes to examine an object.

How does the brain adapt when one sense fails?

The brain has a remarkable ability to adapt when a sense fails. It compensates by enhancing other senses, allowing the individual to rely more heavily on them to perceive the world.

What is the significance of the frequent trips to the countryside in the artist’s routine?

The artist frequently visits the countryside to observe subjects for her paintings. These trips are an integral part of her creative process, as they allow her to study the subjects up close, which is necessary for her artistic work.

Why can the artist not observe the seagulls up close?

The artist cannot observe the seagulls up close because they are difficult to approach. However, she compensates for this distance by focusing on observing them from afar and capturing their essence in her art.

How does the process of touch work in relation to the brain?

Touch involves specialized cells in the skin that convert physical sensations into electrical signals. These signals are sent to the spinal cord, and from there to the brain, where they are interpreted in a specific region of the cortex.

What is the function of the sensory map in the brain?

The sensory map in the brain, particularly in the cortex, helps prioritize certain body parts, such as the hands, lips, and face, by mapping these areas in greater detail. This map is distorted, reflecting the sensitivity of different parts of the body.

How does the sensory map change in individuals who read Braille?

In individuals who read Braille, the area of the cortex responsible for touch becomes larger. This is because their fingers are used to gather tactile information, which leads to a more pronounced and developed sensory map for touch.

What role does the auditory system play in perception?

The auditory system processes sound by translating mechanical vibrations into electrical impulses. These signals are sent to the auditory cortex, where they are decoded into meaningful information such as pitch, volume, and direction.

How does the brain process sound to determine its source?

The brain processes sound through a similar mechanism as vision. It uses information from both ears to determine the location of a sound, creating a perception of direction and depth, much like how the brain processes visual depth.

What is notable about the individual who can recite a boxing match word for word?

The individual, despite being blind, has an exceptional auditory memory. He can recite a boxing match word for word after hearing it just once. This remarkable ability highlights his enhanced auditory perception and memory.