Blindspot shows brain rewiring in an instant
Our brains can rewire themselves in just seconds to compensate for a break in incoming data, suggesting they are even more flexible than previously thought.
We already knew that the brain is constantly adapting throughout our lives, for example by generating new neurons well into adulthood. But just how quickly can it adapt – and does it always involve creating new circuits?
To investigate these questions, Daniel Dilks and his colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology took advantage of the blind spots that occur naturally in our eyes where the optic nerve exits the retina. The brain normally combines images captured by both eyes to fill in the resulting gaps in vision, but Dilks prevented this in 48 volunteers by patching one eye.
