Bence Nanay

At the moment, in the European Union, there is very little support and virtually no training for blind people. But there are very efficient modes of navigating one’s environment that blind people can learn and some of them can learn very easily, including: (1) Cone use, (2) Sensory substitution devices, (3) Echolocation. The problem is that the interpersonal variation in all these three techniques is huge. Some blind subjects pick up these techniques very quickly and use them efficiently, while others struggle even with the most rudimentary steps. The present Proof of Concept application aims to develop techniques for training blind people’s visual cortices that allow for more efficient spatial perception and navigation. Given the well-demonstrated plasticity of the brain, if a brain region is not used regularly, it is reallocated to do something else. More specifically, if blind subjects whose visual cortices are intact do not use these visual cortices, they get reallocated (to, for example auditory or olfactory processing). If they use their visual cortex, it works well, if they don’t, it will eventually stop. Crucially, all three of the techniques that help blind people navigate their environment rely heavily on the functioning of the early visual cortices. The key insight is that blind subjects can navigate their environment better if their visual cortices are in good condition. But how to achieve that? And this is where my own research on the way mental imagery utilizes early visual cortices can be a game changer. In short, we can keep the primary visual cortices of blind subjects in shape if we have them use their visual mental imagery. Active reliance on mental imagery prevents the early visual cortices of blind subjects from being reallocated to other brain functions and thereby allows them to make full use of navigation techniques like sensory substitution, cone use or echolocation.