| The brain has the ability to recall many things in detail. | | | | from a nearby bakery. Using their other senses, they |
| For instance, if you are sitting at your desk right now | | | | can feel underfoot of a stone or gravel path or the |
| and if you close your eyes, you'll find that you'd be | | | | noise coming from a nearby subway, train track or |
| able to find your calculator or pen. Sometimes, | | | | traffic at a busy junction. Soon the familiar pathways |
| unconsciously, you can even find yourself reaching | | | | will become routine - like the visual "maps" of normal |
| out for such items when you need them | | | | sighted people. |
| unconsciously, while you are consciously thinking of | | | | In a similar fashion, people have been using mental |
| solving a problem or making an important decision. | | | | maps to help them memorise large amount of |
| People who become blind as adults will find | | | | information. Such memory techniques help students |
| themselves impeded by their inability to use their | | | | develop their study skills. In fact, anyone can use |
| vision to sense their environment. They cope by | | | | memory mapping to help them improve their |
| relying on their memory of how things are placed. | | | | memory and accelerate their learning. Such memory |
| Their mental maps then become suddenly very | | | | training has found favour by many people to improve |
| important to them. Blind people have to re-create the | | | | memory in work, play and in school and with |
| world around them in their heads by using their other | | | | constant practise, can also keep the mind sharp even |
| senses to help them make sense and navigate their | | | | in old age. |
| environment with new sensory data. | | | | For a long time, neurologists and scientists have tried |
| The blind are able to use their imagination and their | | | | to determine the area of the brain where spatial |
| memory to get around on their own. For example, | | | | orientation is located. Recent findings show that the |
| when they move around town, they are no longer | | | | hippocampus, a part of the cerebrum inside the |
| able to navigate according to familiar landmarks, | | | | temporal lobes, could play an important role when it |
| buildings or street signs. Instead they must find new | | | | comes to orientation. The hippocoampus is part of |
| tags to help them find their way around, such as the | | | | the limbic system, which is considered to be the |
| aroma of freshly brewed coffee from a nearby | | | | control centre for the assessment of information and |
| café or the aroma of freshly baked bread | | | | is the seat of short-term memory. |