Study finds link in brain’s vision, hearing sections

American scientists through an animal study have discovered connections between the vision section and the auditory cortex in the brain.

A team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland kept mice in the dark for a week and observed changes in their brains.

They saw some changes in the structure of the auditory cortex in the brains of mice that had been kept in complete darkness for a week.

The occurred changes led the sections dedicated to hearing to be beefed-up and consequently the mice could hear softer sounds, according to the study report published in the journal Neuron.

The researchers also reported that the effect lasted for several weeks after they were returned to the light.

"This might have implications in deaf people, there is a variety of people that receive cochlear implants as an adult and it might be the case that this enhances the success of these cochlear implants," said one of the researchers Dr Patric Kanold from the University of Maryland.

"This is a fascinating study that tells us more about how our sensory systems interact, in this case how blindness can enhance hearing," said Dr Ralph Holme, the head of biomedical research at the charity Action on Hearing Loss.

Source: presstv.com