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Blindspot shows brain rewiring in an instant

15 July 2009

OUR brains can rewire themselves in just seconds to compensate for a break in incoming data, suggesting they are even more flexible than previously thought.

We already knew that the brain is constantly adapting throughout our lives, for example by generating new neurons well into adulthood. But just how quickly can it adapt – and does it always involve creating new circuits?

To investigate these questions, and his colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology took advantage of the blind spots that occur naturally in our eyes where the optic nerve exits the retina. The brain normally combines…

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