Fascinating stuff. Have you read "The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat"?

Have I read it? Heck, I've lived it! Well, not quite, but since getting my head whacked in 1991 I've had some of the issues Sacks talked about in that book. Really fascinating stuff.

You had to have your head whacked? I've come by it naturally.

Yes, very interesting, Geoff. We can learn a lot from others' experiences. Recently I was at a conference where a nurse who had suffered from schizophrenia (she was being successfully treated with medications) had taped what the voices that she heard sounded like. Now they use these tapes with students so that they can see what it feels like to try to live your life hearing voices. What an excellent teaching strategy to use on students!

The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge and published in 2007, talks of neuroplasticity. He tells of Paul Bach-y-Rita's early research into the field after his father had a debilitating stoke. The doctors said his father would never recover. Paul's brother George took their father back to Mexico and worked with him, and their father eventually recovered and went back to work as a college professor. Paul and George figured that since their father recovered so completely, the damage must not have been as severe as the doctors had thought. But later, after their father's death, an autopsy revealed massive damage from the stroke. The brain had rewired itself around the damage.

Paul Bach-y-Rita also invented a machine that let blind people see via sensors on their tongue and one that enabled a woman who had lost her sense of balance to regain it, again via a sensor on her tongue. Once again the brain had rewired itself.

The book was a fascinating read. Paul Bach-y-Rita was a remarkable man. When I learned he died in 2006 I almost cried. I realize not everyone will have the time or inclination to read the book, but check out the following links.

Mixed Feelings Video

An excerpt from The Brain That Changes Itself

Memorial Resolution for Professor Paul Bach-y-Rita

Erev Rosh Hashanah 5769]
Our brains can change – well into late adulthood.

The adage you can’t teach an old dog new tricks may just be a false lesson in self-defeating rhetoric.
It seems to be in fact that you can teach an old dog new tricks – provided you’re patient and the dog wants to learn.

Remembering Leaders
Dr. Paul Bach-y-Rita
Born: 4/4/1934 - Died: 11/20/2006

Can You See With Your Tongue?

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Great post, Tinman! I've made an appointment with a psychiatrist to try and tease out how much of my own difficulty is due to brain injury and how much is non-trauma related attention deficit disorder. This should be interesting!