Background
The striate cortex is vital in ensuring neurologically healthy vision. The striate cortex retro-geniculate lesions caused by various purposes such as mechanical damage can lead to the blindsight phenomenon during which patients can identify the visual stimuli even with damaged vision neurons. Many scientific papers experimentally examine the patients’ awareness of visual stimuli and their role in the blindsight process. As far as the many experiments prove the correlations between the monkey and human neurological blindsight and the striate cortex functioning, a number of experiments to find the possibility to use conscious vision to minimize the effects of sight damage can be held on monkeys (Cowey, et al., 2002). Therefore, from a long-term perspective, blindsight can be used to identify conscious vision peculiarities and explore the methods to treat blindness. The purpose of the study is to, hold the critical analysis of the practical research of neurologically conditioned aspects of functional blindness in monkeys and humans, evaluate the theoretical possibility of the blindness treatment based on the monkey striate cortex experiments under the conscious vision. A problem under discussion in this paper is the possibility to use vast empirical scientific research results to uncover the correlation between the monkeys’ and humans’ striate cortical functioning to provoke the blindness treatment testing and development.
Aim and goals
This long-established aim to develop the blindness treatment opportunities requires preliminary research and summarizing of the results of the existing experiment to ensure the theoretical foundation for the subsequent valuable experiments. To achieve the aim of the study, particular goals should be set. The first goal is to find relevant scientific papers representing the experiments revealing the correlation between the striate cortex of monkeys and humans. Second, analyze the resources from the point of the stimuli similarities of the species under the condition of blindsight. Third, compare the scientific research results and highlight the relevance for the neurological blindness treatment. Fourth, explore the medical testing opportunities on monkeys due to the similarity of the conscious vision functioning. Fifth, compare the retro-geniculate lesion of the monkey’s striate cortex and human according to the literature. Sixth, present the results of the analysis of the experiment in percentage and figures. Seventh, based on the critical analysis and summaries of the experiments’ results, propose the possible theoretical opportunities for the blindness treatment or minimizing the negative consequences of the striate cortex damage.
Methods and procedure
During the research, the method of the survey of the literature will be used to explore the correlation between the two variables of the study: the striate cortex stimuli activities of the human and monkey. To summarize and compare the experiments on the neurologically-conditioned vision damage and blindsight peculiarities in monkeys and humans, the method of comparative analysis will be used. The data collection method will be applied to choose relevant papers and practical experiments. Considering the procedure of the research, there will be three stages included. The first one will require collecting and exploring the information collection and preliminary exploration. The second step will be connected with the comparing and critical analysis of the research results and concisely presenting the findings. The third step will include the suggestion of the blindness treatment testing opportunities based on the research findings concerning the stimuli reaction and the conscious vision neurological peculiarities of the monkey and human.
Reference
Cowey, A., Stoerig, P., & Zontanou, A. (2002). Aware or unaware: Assessment of cortical blindness in four men and a monkey. Cerebral Cortex Journal, 12, 567–574.