hearinghands

In brief

Hearing hands
25 Jul 98

THE brains of people who have been deaf since birth have the
potential to "hear" vibrations.

                                Sari LevÄnen and his colleagues at the Helsinki University of
                                Technology measured the magnetic field around the heads of subjects
                                holding a vibrating tube. They detected changes in the auditory
                                cortex of a congenitally deaf man when they altered the frequency of
                                the vibrations, but saw no change in the brain patterns of hearing
                                subjects.

                                Animal studies suggest that if one of the senses is lost early in
                                development, the remaining senses can take over the redundant part
                                of the brain. LevÄnen says his findings are the first indication that the
                                human brain has similar capabilities (Current Biology, vol 8, p 869).
                                From New Scientist magazine, vol 159 issue 2144, 25/07/1998, page
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