Deaf people are more intelligent
Deaf more intelligent, says study
Picture used for representational purposeLUCKNOW: Persons with congenital hearing disability are more intelligent than their normal counterparts, says a joint study by faculty members of Centre of Biomedical Research and Dr Shakuntala Mishra National Rehabilitation University (SMNRU). Uttam Kumar, the lead author of the paper published in medical journal 'Brain Research' said that higher presence of grey matter was noted in persons with hearing disability as brain tends to re-wire itself to beat the disability and given adequate chance of learning with the help of visual aids, they can do well in life."The brain's ability to change is known as plasticity. We noted that plastic changes in brain enhance the ability of deaf to use their remaining senses, such as sight and touch," he said. The researchers used brain analysis technique to study brain structure and measure changes and analysed them on a multivariate scale to conclude findings."For the first time, we have proved that important regions of the brain namely fusiform gyrus and inferior temporal have higher presence of grey matter in persons with hearing disability," said Kumar. Grey matter is associated with muscle control, sensory perception, memory, emotions, speech, decision making and self control. Analysis of the structural changes showed lower presence of white matter - tissues through which information travels between regions of the brain. It was noted that the thickness of different layers of brain was higher in deaf. This region helps in determining cognitive abilities like awareness, perception, reasoning, intuition and judgement. "The disability explains lower presence of white matter while higher thickness speaks of the brain's evolution to beat the disability. A detailed look suggested that brain re-assigns functions to its parts to rise above deafness," said Kumar. Co-author Mrityunjaya Mishra of SMNRU said that the findings will go a long way in planning rehabilitation and management of persons with hearing disability. 