VIDEO - Seeing beyond the visual cortex

Damage to the primary visual cortex, the main vision center in the back of the brain, can often cause blindness. But, might it be possible to train the brain to ‘see’ again after such an injury? Yes, according to Tony Ro, a neuroscientist at The City College of New York, who is artificially recreating a condition called Blindsight in his lab. "Blindsight is a condition that some patients experience after having damage to the primary visual cortex in the back of their brains. What happens in these patients is they go cortically blind, yet they can still discriminate visual information, albeit without any awareness." explains Ro. This research holds tantalizing clues to mapping alternative visual pathways that may one day help rehabilitate patients with damage to their primary visual cortex.