Eyes on the Brain

A neurobiologist explores the amazing capacity of the brain to rewire itself at any age.

by Susan R. Barry, Ph.D.

The Power of Mothers

One mother’s determined and successful search for a solution to her child’s school and vision problems. Read More

When Dad Saw Double

When my father grew depressed and withdrawn, I discovered that part of the problem was his vision. Read More

Why Do I Have Trouble Reading?

When I wrote Fixing My Gaze, I was faced with a Catch-22. I wrote the book for people, like me, who have binocular vision problems, but many people with these conditions don’t like to read. Read More

Picking Yourself Up After a Fall

A young musician tells an inspiring story. Read More

No Pain, No Gain?

When my broken right arm came out of its cast, I assumed I’d quickly go back to my right-handed ways. But that’s not what happened. Read More

Reality Check

We may mistake a change in our bodies for a change in the outside world. Read More

Holiday Gifts and Your Brain

A sense of anticipation and discovery may make holiday gift exchange fun, but it is also critically important for neurological rehabilitation and recovery. Read More

Stereo Secrets

Stereograms may reveal drafting tricks of ancient monks. Read More

There's Something in the Way He Moves

Some small children may be fooled into thinking that Pleo, a toy, robot dinosaur is alive. Why is this the case? Read More

Navigation: It's All In Your Head

How do you find your way? Do you always follow a familiar route or do you carry a map in your head? People who use different navigational strategies use their brains in different ways. Read More

Teaching Cross-eyed People to See in 3D

When I first gained 3D vision despite being cross-eyed and stereoblind since infancy, some claimed that I must be “one in a million.” If I was “one in a million,” it was not for reasons that many scientists and doctors believed. Read More

The Power of Music Therapy

Searching for some way to help my father, I found music therapy. Read More

Do Eye Exams Really Test Your Vision?

What should be the main criteria for a prescription for eyeglasses? The answer, it seems, is straightforward. Put the glasses on and the world should look sharper. But your glasses should do more than that. Read More

Brain waves, consciousness, and the perceptual moment.

A brain scientist flashes a dim light in front of you and asks whether or not you see the flash. The light is dim so you see it only half the time. But why is there this variability? If all conditions are identical from trial to trial, shouldn't you see the light during all the trials or during none at all? Read More

When Is the Brain Fully Mature?

If we want to understand brain plasticity, we must consider more than individual neurons and synapses. Brain function also depends upon large nerve fiber tracts. When do these pathways reach maturity? Read More

Seeing More With Every Glance

Can you learn to see more in a shorter amount of time? Read More

Chess and the Brain

If you were to investigate the brain of a chess expert, where would you look? Read More

A Device to Help the Blind See

Most of us think we can see only with our eyes. But, the development of some recent prosthetic devices may prove otherwise. Read More

Does Time Spent Outdoors Alter Our Vision?

The incidence of near-sightedness (myopia) appears to be increasing. Could our modern lifestyle be responsible for this change? Read More

Does Pain Change the Brain?

Does chronic pain change the brain? If so, are these changes reversible? A recent article in the Journal of Neuroscience suggests that the answer to both of these questions may be yes. Read More

Were You Nervous? Watching My Husband Blast Off Into Space.

Today, the Space Shuttle Endeavour rocketed into space. This launch, the final one for Endeavour, brings back a host of memories of my husband's first space shuttle mission. Read More

There Is No Perception Without Action

If you want to see differently, you have to move your eyes in new ways. Read More

Seeing Yourself Differently Through Reframing

Sometimes a deficit may also be an adaptation. Read More

When Doctors and Patients Talk

Online discussions add a new way for doctors and patients to talk. Read More

Memory, the Amygdala, and PTSD.

What would happen if we could remember everything we experience? Read More

Fear, the Eyes, and the Brain

SM is a woman with a very rare disease that destroyed her amygdala, a structure in the forebrain that is involved with our experience of fear. She was indiscriminately trusting and friendly. She could not recognize fear in another person's face.

"When you're smilin'....keep on smilin'/ The whole world smiles with you" - Louis Armstrong's lyrics reveal something fundamental about the human brain.

Every day, new neurons are born in our brain, but their survival depends upon what we do. Read More

The King's Therapist

Imagine that you are King of England at the start of the Second World War. You talk with a pronounced stutter. Who can help you speak to your country? Read More

Help for Math Anxiety?

Many people, even those with a great education, abhor doing simple math calculations in their head. How can this be avoided?

Susan R. Barry, Ph.D., is a professor of neurobiology in the Department of Biological Sciences at Mount Holyoke College and the author of Fixing My Gaze (June, 2009).

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