Credit: Image courtesy of Luis Lesmes, Michael Dorr, Peter Bex, Amy Kalia, &
Pawan Sinha.
Pictured are simulated views of an abstract painting to depict the development of pattern vision following early and extended blindness.
Working with children who gained sight after several years of early onset blindness, Kalia et al. found that they had poor spatial resolution and impoverished contrast perception immediately after cataract surgery. This is simulated in the left panel. Follow-up assessments six months later revealed surprising enhancement of contrast sensitivity. The middle panel depicts the substantial improvements in perceptual quality this corresponds to. The right panel shows the original painting. These findings suggest that the visual system retains considerable plasticity beyond the early years believed to be critical for normal development. The painting (acrylics on canvas) was created by a child who gained sight after extended blindness."