# Scientists Partially Restored Vision to a Completely Blind Person

Spanish neuroscientists have taken a step toward restoring vision to people with severe visual system damage: during an experiment, they managed to achieve partial restoration of visual functions in a patient who had been considered completely blind for several years. The method is based on direct impact on the visual cortex of the brain using electrical stimulation.

As BAKU.WS reports, citing Brain Communications, the study was conducted by specialists from Miguel Hernández University in Elche together with the CIBER-BBN center. The man who participated in the experiment lost his vision due to irreversible damage to the optic nerve and had not perceived visual information for more than three years.

Scientists used a cortical visual prosthesis, which does not restore eye function but creates visual sensations directly in the brain. For this purpose, an array of 100 microelectrodes was implanted into the patient's primary visual cortex. During stimulation, he began to see phosphenes - flashes and points of light that are basic visual signals.

An important part of the experiment was daily training: the patient performed special tasks for at least half an hour a day, training perception of light, movement, geometric shapes, as well as letters and numbers. This combination of stimulation and exercises, according to scientists, played a key role in the achieved effect.

If at the beginning of the study visual evoked potentials were almost not recorded, over time they became clearly registered and intensified. This indicates that the visual cortex began to process information again, despite the damage to the optic nerve.

As a result, the man's visual perception and spatial orientation improved, and movement accuracy increased. In everyday life, he began to feel more confident and secure, noting increased independence.

The authors emphasize that this is a unique case, and the obtained results cannot be automatically applied to all patients. Nevertheless, the work demonstrates that the brain retains the ability for functional reorganization and opens prospects for creating new rehabilitation methods, including gentler, non-invasive neurostimulation approaches.