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• 1 2017-11-13T09:26:51-08:00 Mind and Brain Interaction: Cerebral Achromatopsia and Other Disorders 22 image_header 2017-11-19T22:58:36-08:00     This disorder exemplifies mind and brain interaction very well and shows how plastic the mind really is. To understand how the disorder manifests, one first must understand the mechanisms behind vision. According to the American Optometric Association, sight occurs when “light rays reflect off an object and enter the eyes through the cornea”(AOA). The optic nerves then receives these signals and sends them to the brain which then interprets the signals and creates a visible image (AOA). The most important part of this interaction is the interpretation by the brain and it also happens to be the most prone to changes. For example, external factors such as drugs may cause such things as hallucinations or blurred vision even though the cornea is still receiving the same light signal. This shows how influences on the brain can alter the perception of an image. Now to specifically analyze the mind and brain reaction in regards to cerebral achromatopsia, a case study title “The Case of the Colorblind Painter” from Oliver Sacks book, “An Anthropologist on Mars”, can be used. In this case study a painter was in a car accident which caused head trauma, at which point he began experiencing monochromatic color blindness, in which everything he saw was black and white (Sacks 3). The brain trauma and subsequent damage from the car accident is the sole variable that was altered to cause the loss of the ability to see color which is an example of how damage or an alteration to the brain can change the perception of the world by an individual even if all of the other elements such as the external signals received from the environment and the organs that are receiving the signal are operating perfectly well. The painter also used to have intense synesthesia when listening to music which he then lost after his accident. Synesthesia is when people “taste colors, see sounds, hear shapes, or touch emotions” (Ramachandran 75). Cerebral achromatopsia is a rare condition in which the brain is interpreting sensory inputs differently which creates a unique experience and perception of the world for an individual. After the accident the painter lost his synesthesia and became monochromatically colorblind, another unique perspective and experience of the world. These various changes and differences of experiences of the world by one individual go to show how plastic the brain is. The term ”plasticity”, when used to describe the malleable nature of the brain, was coined by Dr. V.S. Ramachandran and the case study of the man with cerebral achromatopsia exemplifies this quality of the brain.
  
  
  Written By Michael Amadio