Visually Impaired People Recognise Faces Through Sound, Study Finds Brain Area Which Makes This Possible

Visually impaired people recognise faces through sounds, and there is a certain region in the brain that allows them to process faces. This region of the brain is known as the fusiform face area. As part of a new study, neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center have identified that region of the brain using a specialised device that translates images into sound.  The device is called a sensory substitution device. The study describing the findings was published November 22, 2023, in the journal PLOS ONE.  MUST READ | <a title="Antibiotic Use Linked With Increased Risk Of Heart Attack And Stroke In Women. Here’s Why" href="https://ift.tt/caZMm85" target="_self">Antibiotic Use Linked With Increased Risk Of Heart Attack And Stroke In Women. Here’s Why</a> A network of specialised cortical regions allows face perception in humans and non-human primates. Scientists do not have a proper understanding of how these regions develop. Several scientists believe that the neural mechanisms for face recognition are innate in primates, or depend on early visual experience with faces, because these mechanisms are important for social behaviour.  As part of the study, six visually impaired people, and 10 sighted people who served as control subjects, were made to undergo three rounds of functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, in order to see which parts of the brain were activated when images were translated into sound.  MUST READ | <a title="Triple Drug Combinations, Stem Cell Therapy — Science Advances And Potential Treatments For COPD In Future" href="https://ift.tt/xz0r5YC" target="_self">Triple Drug Combinations, Stem Cell Therapy — Science Advances And Potential Treatments For COPD In Future</a> In visually impaired people, brain activation by sound primarily occurred in the left fusiform area. Meanwhile, in sighted people, face processing occurred in the right fusiform area.  When a basic cartoon face, such as an emoji face, is transcribed into sound patterns with the help of the device, visually impaired people can recognise the face. However, this was possible only after several practice sessions, and was a time-intensive process.  MUST READ | <a title="Air Pollution Increases Risk Of Cancers Of The Neck, Especially Throat. Here's How, And Who Is At Greater Risk" href="https://ift.tt/y23pr8D" target="_self">Air Pollution Increases Risk Of Cancers Of The Neck, Especially Throat. Here's How, And Who Is At Greater Risk</a> Initially, the people were made to recognise simple geometrical shapes such as horizontal and vertical lines. Then, gradually, the complexity of the stimuli was increased such that the lines formed shapes like houses or faces. Later on, the shapes became even more complex. For instance, the participants were shown wide houses and happy and sad faces. Next, the scientists aim to use pictures of real faces and houses in combination with their device, but for that, the resolution of the device must be increased. MUST READ | <a title="Missing World War II Pilot Located After 8 Decades By Forensic Scientists" href="https://ift.tt/V8PSgIh" target="_self">Missing World War II Pilot Located After 8 Decades By Forensic Scientists</a> In a statement released by the Georgetown University School of Medicine, Josef Rauschecker, a senior author on the paper, said the researchers intend to find out whether it is possible for visually impaired people to learn to recognise individuals from their pictures. A lot more practice will be required using the device.  Rauschecker said that now that the researchers have pinpointed the region of the brain where the translation occurs, they may have a better handle on how to fine-tune their processes. 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Know Prevalence And Survival Rate" href="https://ift.tt/pcZY5RB" target="_self">India Has Maximum Preterm Births Globally, Say Experts. Know Prevalence And Survival Rate</a> The left/right difference between people who are visually impaired and those who are not may provide insights into how the left and right sides of the fusiform area process faces. They may process faces as connected patterns or as separate parts.  In the statement, Paula Plaza, one of the lead authors on the paper, said the study shows that the fusiform face area encodes the 'concept' of a face regardless of visual experience, and this is an important discovery. MUST READ | <a title="How Epilepsy Is Treated When Medications Fail Or Surgery Cannot Be Performed" href="https://ift.tt/vwMcZWA" target="_self">How Epilepsy Is Treated When Medications Fail Or Surgery Cannot Be Performed</a>

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Visually Impaired People Recognise Faces Through Sound, Study Finds Brain Area Which Makes This Possible

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Visually Impaired People Recognise Faces Through Sound, Study Finds Brain Area Which Makes This Possible

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