The mysterious case of the boy missing most of his visual cortex who can see anyway
December 8, 2017 by Bob Yirka report
(Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers with Monash University recently gave a presentation at a neuroscience conference in Australia outlining their study of the brain of a seven-year-old boy who was missing most of his visual cortex but could still see—the first such case ever known.
The boy, the researchers told the audience, suffered major damage to his visual cortex as a result of medium-chain acyl-Co-A dehydrogenase deficiency at just two weeks old—a rare condition that results in severe damage to nerve cells due to an inability to convert some types of fats into energy. That meant the boy, who the researchers referred to as B.I., wound up without most of his visual cortex, a condition that for most people would result in cortical blindness. Cortical blindness is an odd condition in which the brain can still receive visual input, but cannot process what is seen, leaving the person with the sensation of sight without being able to actually see. But oddly enough, B.I. can see almost as well as any other boy his age.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-12-mysterious-case-boy-visual-cortex.html
