A brain fingerprint: Study uncovers unique brain plasticity in people born blind

A study led by Georgetown University neuroscientists reveals that the part of the brain that receives and processes visual information in sighted people develops a unique connectivity pattern in people born blind. They say this pattern in the primary visual cortex is unique to each person - akin to a fingerprint.

The findings, described July 30, 2024, in PNAS, have profound implications for understanding brain development and could help launch personalized rehabilitation and sight restoration strategies.

For decades, scientists have known that the visual cortex in people born blind responds to a myriad of stimuli, including touch, smell, sound localization, memory recall and response to language. However, the lack of a common thread linking the tasks that activate primary areas in the visual cortex has perplexed researchers. The new study, led by Lenia Amaral, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher; and Ella Striem-Amit, PhD, the Edwin H. Richard and Elisabeth Richard von Matsch Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at Georgetown University's School of Medicine, offers a compelling explanation: differences in how each individual's brain organizes itself.

The researchers posit that understanding each person's individual connectivity may be important to better tailor solutions for rehabilitation and sight restoration to individuals with blindness, each based on their own individual brain connectivity pattern.