Visual areas of the brain to hear the blind

Blind people are often more acute hearing. U.S. researchers found that patients who had lost his sight in childhood, responsible for the use of the area of the brain to hear better, according to the Journal of Neuroscience. In healthy people, the visual cortex and visual function over time - is responsible for the hearing. In case of loss of the occipital region acquires new functions, carried out a study from researchers at the University of Oregon Medical Sciences (Oregon Health & Science University). Study leader Alexander Stephens (Alexander Stevens) blind patients different melodies, each lost by a short beep ahead. At the same time, the brain scans of the participants. It was found that each activity was accompanied by a warning signal in the visual cortex, increased susceptibility to subsequent sounds. Thus blind people summarized the area that is used for the perception of images, in preparation for the perception of sound, the researchers said.