Face-specific brain area responds to faces even in people born blind

Amazing stuff! 



"More than 20 years ago, [researchers] discovered that a small section of the brain located near the base of the skull responds much more strongly to faces than to other objects we see. This area, known as the fusiform face area, is believed to be specialized for identifying faces. Now, in a surprising new finding, [researchers] have shown that this same region also becomes active in people who have been blind since birth, when they touch a three-dimensional model of a face with their hands. The finding suggests that this area does not require visual experience to develop a preference for faces. ... The new work builds on a 2017 study from researchers in Belgium. In that study, congenitally blind subjects were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as they listened to a variety of sounds, some related to faces (such as laughing or chewing), and others not. That study found higher responses in the vicinity of the FFA to face-related sounds than to sounds such as a ball bouncing or hands clapping."



Face-specific brain area responds to faces even in people born blind | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Study finds that the fusiform face area is active when blind people touch 3D models of faces.