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Anonymous at Wed, 2 Apr 2025 19:59:56 UTC No. 16635389
Why Might Congenital Blindness Protect Against Schizophrenia?
Differences in Brain Development
People born blind have structural and functional changes in their brains, particularly in areas related to sensory processing and perception. These changes might provide resilience against the neural disruptions that contribute to schizophrenia.
Lack of Visual Hallucinations
Visual processing is a major factor in schizophrenia. Since congenitally blind individuals do not have visual experiences, they may be less susceptible to certain hallucination-related mechanisms.
Enhanced Social Processing
Blind individuals often develop strong social and verbal communication skills, which might protect against the social withdrawal and cognitive dysfunction associated with schizophrenia.
Reduced Dopamine Dysregulation
Schizophrenia is linked to excessive dopamine activity, particularly in the visual and cognitive regions. Since blind individuals process the world differently, their dopamine systems may be less prone to the disruptions that trigger psychosis.
TDG !!YByxW7AXs7/ at Wed, 2 Apr 2025 20:30:36 UTC No. 16635412
>>16635389
>no eyesight -> reduced pattern recognition -> reduced risk of overpatterning
q.e.d. ... this is not even worth doing a study on, it is obvious. Idiot researchers I swear ...
Anonymous at Wed, 2 Apr 2025 21:31:24 UTC No. 16635461
Hmm there's lots involved in schizophrenia besides just visual hallucinations, there's auditory hallucinations, delusions, etc.
I read a theory that autism and schizophrenia are at opposite sides of a spectrum, with most people being somewhere near the middle. I'm definitely more on the autistic side and I have much higher auditory focus than most people. I notice everything I hear, I get very disturbed by loud/unpleasant sounds. When I got interested in birds I learned most of their calls/songs faster than I learned to visually recognize them. I wonder if it's related, like blindness creates a natural tilt towards the autistic side (and assuming that theory is correct)