Research at the Hebrew University found that the brain does not need eyes to read

The study revealed that the same area of ​​the brain responsible for reading is activated in both sighted and blind people when reading 

The part of the brain responsible for reading does not require sight at all - according to a new study by scientists from the Hebrew University and France. The study revealed that the same area of ​​the brain responsible for reading is activated in both sighted and blind people when reading.

The researchers performed functional brain imaging on the brains of blind people while they read words written in braille and found that the brain shows activity in the same area that is active in sighted people while they read. The findings challenge the concept that has prevailed in research so far that there are areas in the brain that specialize in processing information that comes through the perceptual senses.

"The brain is not a sensory machine, although it is often perceived as such" says Dr. Amir Amadi from the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Research and the Israel-Canada Medical Research Institute of the Hebrew University School of Medicine who headed the study. "The brain is actually a task machine in which each area fulfills a unique function. In the current study, we found that the area responsible for reading in the brain is not related to the ability to absorb data through vision."

Unlike other tasks performed by the brain, reading is a relatively new task that was developed in humans only about 5,400 years ago, while Braille has only been used for the last 200 years. "This is a relatively short time for the brain to change from an evolutionary point of view and a new area that specializes in reading skills will open," explains Dr. Amadi.

Previous studies have shown that there is an area of ​​the brain known as the area of ​​the visual system that specializes in reading (Visual Word Form Area). However, until now it was not known what goes on in the brains of the blind from birth who read Braille.

In the current study, the research group, which also included research student Lior Reich from Dr. Amadi's lab, used functional brain imaging (fMRI) to measure the activity of nerve cells in the brains of eight blind people from birth while they read braille or non-tactile braille. If the assumption was correct that the brain operates according to the processing of sensory information, it would be reasonable that the act of reading Braille among the blind from birth would rely on areas of the brain dedicated to processing information related to the sense of touch. However, the researchers found that the peak of activity in the brain reading area among sighted people also occurs among blind people. The researchers conclude from this that the brain actually directs tasks, contrary to the belief that it directs according to senses.

Another comparison conducted by the researchers between the brain activity of blind readers and sighted readers revealed that the patterns of activity in the area of ​​the brain specialized in reading was the same between the two groups.

"The main task components of the area responsible for reading, as identified in sighted people, are also found in blind people, so these components are independent of the senses and do not even require visual experience," the researchers wrote in an article published last weekend in the journal Current Biology.