Comments on: Deafhearing

By: SeekerVI

SeekerVI — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 04:23:20 +0000

It could be the brain is capable of getting information from one sense and interpreting it with another (like in synaesthesia). Could information from the skin (able to detect light and vibrations) feed into the visual/audio cortexes? —
Then there are theories that the universe (including people) is layered system: if a component breaks down on one level could another act as a replacement?—
Or if the entire physical universe is nothing but a construct of the mind, there should be mental tricks that allow one to change what is [real], as with levitation, faith healing, etc.
http://www.amazingabilities.com/amaze8a.html

By: SteffW

SteffW — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 20:28:51 +0000

I have been ‘blindsighted’ in my right eye, and I believe, deaf-hearing in my right ear since birth. Here’s a poser for you… I am conscious of ‘musical’ sound from around middle C and below in my right ear (verified by an audiologist). However, spoken language is gibberish on that side. My doctor presumed this was because of a lack of higher-pitched consonant sounds. But one night, wilst my left ear was buried in a pillow, I found I could understand words (a radio newscast) with my right ear if I maintained a meditative enough state of mind. It is still very difficult to do this for very long. There doesn’t seem to be a lasting benefit. Although it has become slightly easier to do with age and/or practice. Any theories?

By: tom

tom — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 13:35:41 +0000

Excellent, thanks prd – very satisfying to know.
My next predictions is that there should be no equivalent phenomenon for smell, because smell information enters the cortex directory (at the olfactory bulb) without any pre-thalamic/sub-cortical processing

By: prd

prd — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 09:58:13 +0000

Your intuition on deaf hearing was correct: Garde MM, Cowey A (2000) “Deaf hearing”: unacknowledged detection of auditory stimuli in a patient with cerebral deafness. Cortex 36(1): 71-80

By: Wiley Wiggins

Wiley Wiggins — Fri, 14 Oct 2005 21:50:25 +0000

I’ve experienced ‘blindsight’ before on LSD. It’s extremely disconcerting. I was unable to see, but would flinch from movement. It was a little bit like my entire field of vision became peripheral vision. The experience was scary enough to discourage me from taking LSD again.