Brain tests on deaf suggest sound idea

A region of the brain that normally processes sound is active in deaf children, feeling vibrations.

That has suggested the possibility of a hearing aid which converts sound into vibrations.

A researcher found that brain scans performed on children born deaf revealed their brains' auditory cortex was active when holding a vibrating plastic tube, although that area of the brain in people with intact hearing was not.

"Our research suggests this part of the brain is geared for processing sound-like sensations and shows people born deaf can adapt to 'hear' what their fingers feel," said radiologist Dean Shibata of the University of Washington.

"It also suggests there may be great potential in the use of tactile electronic devices which can convert sound energy into vibrational energy."

The devices would help deaf children better understand speech and hear sound in general.

The hearing aid would involving hooking up a microphone to a hand-held, speaker-like vibrator.

Magnetic resonance images were taken of the brains of 10 students from the National Technical Institute of the Deaf in Rochester and of 11 hearing students while each held a plastic pipe that was vibrated.

The brains of both sets of students showed activity in the perirolandic cortex, where the sense of touch is processed, when the pipe was vibrated.

But the deaf students also had brain activity in the superior temporal gyri, where sounds are processed, and the hearing students did not.

The findings reflect the experiences of deaf musicians who use vibration to play.

- REUTERS

nzherald.co.nz/health