1983 Study Motion Blindness

The 1983 study by Zihl, Von Cramon and Mai investigates motion blindness, or akinetopsia. The patient suffering with this disorder had a very limited perception of visual motion, motion in depth, apparent motion and did not see motion after effects. Brain damage, specifically bilateral, posterior brain damage, can sometimes result in disturbed perception of color and, as in the case of L.M., motion. More specifically, the area that was damaged was assumed to be the posterior part of the middle temporal gyrus and the lateral occipital gyri. This area was thought to be similar to area found in the brain of monkeys. The cortical areas discovered in monkeys had cells that responded specifically to movement of the same speed that L.M. could not perceive. The area also had neurons that were found to respond best to motion depth, another skill that L.M. lacked. A different opinion for the neurobiological basis of this condition is that the cortical area involved with the previously mentioned functions was disconnected from the striate cortex. Damage to the brain can result in a wide range of …show more content…
Motion is such a vital part of how were understand life that living without it doesn’t even make sense to me. I greatly enjoy art and I think it would be interesting to see how living with akinetopsia would affect someone’s pictorial representations movement. I would be very interested in seeing how someone with motion blindness would draw a flowing river, or a flag waving in the breeze. I would ask what it is like to watch a movie. Does the movie progress similarly to what happens when fast forwarding when a frame appears and then another frame from the next scene a few seconds appears? I feel like living with akinetopsia would be similar to living with complete blindness. Many ordinary, daily tasks like filling up a glass, or crossing the street would need to rely largely on sense other than