Eye News Roundup – June, Week 4

No, this is not out of the script of a sci-fi flick; this is real, irrespective of how unlikely you find it to be true. A Scottish woman suffered from a stroke, which resulted in damaging the visual processing centers of her brain, leaving her blind. However, despite her blindness, she was able to see objects in motion, as reported by a team of neuroscientists at the University of Western Ontario.

This rare event compelled Jody Culham of the University of Western Ontario and her fellow neuroscientists run through the most extensive analysis and brain mapping of a blind person ever done to date in a bid to comprehend the factors contributing to this odd phenomenon in Milena Canning, a 48-year old Scottish lady.

A respiratory infection followed by a series of strokes led Canning to lose her vision 18 years ago. She woke up blind after 8 weeks in coma, but to her surprise, she was able to have a glint of a sparkly gift bag, much like a flashing green light.

This was just the beginning though. Sporadically, she was able to view other objects as well, but only when motion was involved; for example, catching a glimpse of her daughter’s bobbing ponytail when she walked (but not her face), raindrops trickling down through a window, but never the water filled tub, and so forth.

Long story short, further exploration by Culham’s team, including fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) for real time examination of Canning’s structure and function of the brain, pointed towards a rare phenomenon, Riddoch syndrome, enabling a blind person consciously see a moving object rather than a stationary one.

To better serve your curiosity, visit ScienceDaily to know more of this intriguing story.