A boy is missing the vision bit of his brain but can still see

Brain scans of a normal brain (left) and the boy missing a visual cortex (right) — A normal brain (left) and the boy missing a visual cortex (right)

By Alice Klein

An Australian boy missing the visual processing centre of his brain has baffled doctors by seeming to have near-normal sight.

The 7-year-old, known as “BI”, lost his primary visual cortex shortly after he was born due to a rare metabolic disorder called medium-chain acyl-Co-A dehydrogenase deficiency.

Normally, the primary visual cortex is crucial for sight because it processes electrical signals relayed from the eyes. People with damage to this area are said to have “cortical blindness”.

However, BI has remarkably well-preserved vision, says Iñaki-Carril Mundiñano at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. “You wouldn’t think he is blind,” he says. “He navigates his way around without any problems and plays soccer and video games,” he