Scientists gain new understanding as to why deaf people often have extraordinary visual acuity

Image: Cerebral Systems Laboratory

A research team led by Stephen Lomber at the Center of Brain and Mind, University of Western Ontario, discovered more about how the human brain adapts for deafness. They used cats in the study, which is the only other animal besides humans that are born deaf, and found that part of the brain normally dedicated to detecting peripheral sound rededicates itself to pick up peripheral motion instead.

“The brain wants to compensate for the lost sense with enhancements that are beneficial. For example, if you’re deaf, you would benefit by seeing a car coming far off in your peripheral vision, because you can’t hear that car approaching from the side; the same with being able to more accurately detect how fast something is moving,” says Lomber. “The brain is very efficient, and doesn’t let unused space go to waste.”


Lomber is looking into whether this same adaptation occurs in people who were born hearing and became deaf later as well.