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Al first sight it looks like an off – center ponytail flopping at the joack of the head of a 62 year old man named jerry. But a closer look reveals that it is actually a bundle of wires entering jerry’s skull.

The purpose of the wires is to link a computer directly into Jerry’s brain. The computer responds to a tiny pinhole camera mounted on one lens of a pair of sunglasses Jerry is wearing, along with an ultrasonic rangefinder mounted on the other lens. The camera and rangfinder send minute electrical charges through 68 electrodes implanted in a small area of the surface of Jerry’s brain, allowing Jerry to perceive specks of light.

Admittedly, the kind of vision Jerry experiences is greatly limited. He is able to locate a mannequin in a room, find a black cap that is hanging on a wall, and place it on the head of the mannequin. He can also recognize two-inchtall letters from five feet away.

Jerry (wahose last name has not been divulged) is using an experimental device that may someday bring close to normal vision to people with blindness. Although in its current version the device permits Jerry to see only speeks oflickering light, it is still sophisticated enough to permit him to perceive differences between light and dark areas (Dobelle,2000).

Technological advances are providing other approaches to helping the blind. For instance, sensory perception psychologist Jack Lomis and colleagues are deeloping what they call a”personal guidance system” to help people with vision limitations move through their environment (Loomis et al, 1993; Colledge et al, 1998 Loomise, Colledge, et Klatzky, in press).

The system uses a positioning device linked to navigation satellites overhead that are able to map the ground with an accuracy of several feet. Geographic information from the satelites is transmitted to an on ground receiver and computer strapped to a person’s back. The computer translates. The geographic information into acoustic stimulation, which for now is just a code word, becomes softer of louder, depending on the direction the person is supposed to turn.

Klatzky and Loomis that future versions will go beyond a single code word to provide complete verbal directions, sucas as “go forward ten feet, and then turn to the right. “In addition, the computer will identify landmarks the person is passing by (“I”m the post office, and I’m 20 feet to your left”). Furthermore, the size of the backpack should shrink significanty, perhaps fitting into a pack arround the waist.

Researchers predict that devices such as Jerry’s electrodes and the personal guidance system will be commecially available within the next new years. Next on the horizon are electronic retinal implants, a kind a bionic eye, that will restore sight to people with damaged retinas. Some expert feel that such devices can be developed well before the end of the decade (Marcus, 1998; Eisenberg, 1999; Dobelle, 2000).

What psychological adjustments migjt be necessary when sight is restored for people who have been blind for their entire lives? Can you think of any disadvantages of the restoration of the restoration of sight and why some blind individuals might decide not to have sight restored?

source: essentials of understanding psychology by robert s. feldman