Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways

Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways

At the molecular level, visual signals trigger transformations in photopigment molecules, resulting in changes in the photoreceptor cell's membrane potential. The photon's energy level is denoted by its wavelength, with each specific wavelength of visible light associated with a distinct color. The spectral range of visible light, classified as electromagnetic radiation, spans from 380 to 720 nm. Electromagnetic radiation wavelengths exceeding 720 nm fall under the infrared category, whereas...

Prosopagnosia

Prosopagnosia

Prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness, is the inability to recognize faces. In severe cases, individuals with prosopagnosia may not recognize close family members, including parents and spouses, by their faces. For instance, someone with prosopagnosia might walk past their child in a crowd, only realizing their mistake upon noticing their child's distinctive backpack or favorite jacket. Prosopagnosia specifically impairs facial recognition, while the recognition of other objects or...

Visual Agnosia

Visual Agnosia

Visual agnosia is a condition characterized by the inability to recognize visually presented objects despite having normal vision. For instance, a person with visual agnosia can describe the shape and color of an object but cannot identify or name it. This impairment does not affect their visual field, acuity, color vision, brightness discrimination, language, or memory. An example of this condition in a social setting is someone at a dinner party asking for "that silver thing with a round end"...

Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity reflects the brain's remarkable capacity to adapt and evolve, responding dynamically to learning, experiences, or injury by reorganizing its neural circuitry. This reorganization involves creating new neural connections and refining old ones through a series of biological processes that contribute to the brain's lifelong development and adaptability.

Unrenewable Cells

Unrenewable Cells

In humans, the photoreceptor cells of the eye and sensory hair cells of the ear lack stem cells. These cells are thus unrenewable and cannot be replaced when they are damaged or destroyed.
Photoreceptors
The retina is composed of several layers and contains specialized cells called photoreceptors. The photoreceptors (rods and cones) change their membrane potential when stimulated by light energy. There are two types of photoreceptors—rods and cones—which differ in the shape of their outer...

Depth Perception and Spatial Vision

Depth Perception and Spatial Vision

Depth perception is the ability to perceive objects three-dimensionally. It relies on two types of cues: binocular and monocular. Binocular cues depend on the combination of images from both eyes and how the eyes work together. Since the eyes are in slightly different positions, each eye captures a slightly different image. This disparity between images, known as binocular disparity, helps the brain interpret depth. When the brain compares these images, it determines the distance to an object.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Approaching background sounds extend the duration of foreground auditory stimuli.

Scientific reports·2026

Same author

Progress Through Engagement: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis of Qualitative Community-Based Participatory Research in Vision Impairment.

Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy·2026

Same author

Touching soft materials slows affective visual processing.

Frontiers in psychology·2025

Same author

Visual experience affects neural correlates of audio-haptic integration: A case study of non-sighted individuals.

Progress in brain research·2025

Same author

Improving inner speech decoding by hybridisation of bimodal EEG and fMRI data.

Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference·2025

Same author

The frog hand illusion: Distortion of hand shape in inverted presentation.

i-Perception·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 14, 2026

A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss

A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss

Published on: April 11, 2025

Congenital blindness improves semantic and episodic memory.

Achille Pasqualotto¹, Jade S Y Lam, Michael J Proulx

¹School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS, UK. a.pasqualotto@qmul.ac.uk

Behavioural Brain Research

|February 19, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Congenitally blind individuals show improved memory for presented words but fewer false memories. This suggests blindness enhances verbal abilities and alters semantic memory processing.

More Related Videos

Behavioral Assessment of Visual Function via Optomotor Response and Cognitive Function via Y-Maze in Diabetic Rats

Behavioral Assessment of Visual Function via Optomotor Response and Cognitive Function via Y-Maze in Diabetic Rats

Published on: October 23, 2020

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 14, 2026

A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss

A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss

Published on: April 11, 2025

Behavioral Assessment of Visual Function via Optomotor Response and Cognitive Function via Y-Maze in Diabetic Rats

Behavioral Assessment of Visual Function via Optomotor Response and Cognitive Function via Y-Maze in Diabetic Rats

Published on: October 23, 2020

Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Neuroscience
Psychology

Background:

Previous research indicates congenitally blind individuals have superior verb-generation skills.
Blindness may impact semantic memory capacity and fidelity.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the effect of congenital blindness on semantic memory capacity and fidelity.
To explore how blindness influences false memory formation using a word-list paradigm.

Main Methods:

Utilized the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) false memory paradigm.
Compared memory performance and false memory rates between congenitally blind participants and sighted controls.

Main Results:

Congenitally blind participants demonstrated enhanced memory recall for presented words.
Blind participants exhibited significantly reduced false memories for non-presented semantic lures.
A dissociation between memory capacity and fidelity was observed in blind individuals.

Conclusions:

Congenital blindness is associated with enhanced verbal memory capacity and reduced susceptibility to false memories.
Findings support the hypothesis of enhanced verbal abilities in the blind, linked to brain reorganization.
Semantic memory processing is differentially affected by congenital blindness.