I\'m writing a little article and need any information about how human vision wo
ID: 31718 • Letter: I
Question
I'm writing a little article and need any information about how human vision works and latest technologies and discoveries around. Actually its not a professional article. Its for a group of my friends.
In fact I'm looking for any possible way to make someone ACTUALLY see when their eyes are closed. I don't know maybe convince some of brain cells that a real pulse is coming from eyes, but in reality its coming from a computer; or something like that.
I call it a virtual vision, myself.
Do you guys know if there's any professional article, discoveries or technologies available about this topic? I'm very very interested in this topic by the way.
Explanation / Answer
Yes, this is most certainly possible and already being done. As long as the visual cortex of the brain (in the occipital lobe, i.e. at the back of your head) is functional, the correct stimulation will produce visual perception.
In cases of blindness caused by malfunction of the retina, meaning that the rest of the visual pathway is functional, this is the most promising approach to restoring vision. See Visual prosthesis and the TED talk on it.
"Virtual vision" as in projecting a whole field of vision (reflecting the real surroundings) is the big ideal target that this technology is aiming for. Of course as soon as they manage to make a working prosthesis for blind people, someone will probably try to make it non-invasive and easily usable for commercial exploitation.