Before You See It . . .

According to new research done at Duke University, neurons in the brain predict and edit what you see before you see it. And the brain's visual circuits perform "error correction" on the fly. The fMRI study results have led to a new picture of human vision (labeled predictive coding) and challenge the currently held model of sight. The study could change the way in which neuroscientists study the brain. It seems that vision is more complex than scientists previously believed. Apparently, the current picture of human vision (called feature detection) is incomplete. The new data show the brain predicts what it will see and edits those predictions in a top-down mechanism.

http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2010/12/egner_vision.html

And Prosopagnosia

Prosopagnosia (sometimes known as face blindness) is a condition that involves an impairment in the ability to recognize faces (e.g., severe difficulty recognizing faces). The ability to recognize other objects may be relatively intact. The term originally referred to a condition following acute damage to the brain. Recently, however, a congenital form of the disorder has been proposed, which may be inherited by about 2.5% of the population. The specific brain area usually associated with prosopagnosia is the gusiform gyrus. (Grüter T, Grüter M, Carbon CC (2008). "Neural and genetic foundations of face recognition and prosopagnosia". J Neuropsychol 2 (1): 79–97. doi:10.1348/174866407X231001. PMID 19334306.)

Phonagnosia

Researchers at the University College London) have identified and reported a rare condition known as phonagnosia. Most people were born with the ability to learn to recognize people by the sound of their voices. But apparently not all! Dr Brad Duchaine, co-author of a case study reported in the online issue of the journal Neuropsychologia, says: "Occasionally, people have experienced problems recognizing voices following a stroke or brain damage, but this is the first documented case of someone growing up with this condition." In all likelihood, there are others on this plant with this condition . . . (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081027082236.htm)

Electronic Babysitting!

The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that babies under age 2 watch no TV. A recent study, reported in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, has suppported that conclusion: TV watching not only isn't educational, but it seems to stunt babies' development. Nancy Shute reported on this in her article entitled "TV Watching Is Bad for Babies' Brains." The study reported that babies who watched 60 minutes of TV daily had developmental scores one-third lower at age 14 months than babies who weren't watching that much TV. Ouch!

http://health.yahoo.net/articles/parenting/tv-watching-bad-babies-brains