Human “bat sight” and Neuroplasticity

The BBC reports here on a study of two blind people who have learned to echolocate by making clicking sounds and listening to the returning echo; just as bats and dolphins do.  The area of the brain used is the area which handles visual messages in normal-sighted people.

Sounds like an example of neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to re-wire itself either around problems or to optimise its handling of information it receives.  In his book, The Shallows, Nicholas Carr describes this feature and its consequences for our ability to focus and “deep think” in a world of wired distraction.

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