Research Topic 1:
People who were born blind have a “category map” in the same visual area of the brain that sighted people do, finds research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In sighted people, this area-the ventral-temporal cortex-is divided into regions that quickly recognize visual input as belonging to categories such as faces, body parts, objects and scenes. In the study, researchers used fMRI to image the brains of participants who were blind since birth as they listened to sounds representing those different categories, such as a clock for objects, forest sounds for scenes and footsteps for body parts. They found that the “visual map” area of the blind participants’ brains responded to this auditory input in the same way sighted people’s brains respond to visual input. Our brains are amazing!

SBG Notes:
If any children in the Houston area with autism or mental illness lost vital devices and/or assistive technology in the hurricane, please contact us through this site so we can help replace those devices. Send us the a photo of the device or description device, proof of child’s diagnosis, reason device is needed, and contact information for therapist/psychologist that recommended assistive technology. We will confirm need and diagnosis and we will send scholarship money for the device to your therapist. Please also leave your contact information. We sincerely hope all Texas children are safe and dry and their parents are rebuilding quickly! Parents make sure you also take care of yourself!! Our offices will resume on September 10th and we will begin to contact you and your therapist.

Susie Bean Gives