blindsight

n. the capacity of some individuals with damage to the striate cortex (primary visual cortex or area V1) to detect and even localize visual stimuli presented to the blind portion of the visual field. Discrimination of movement, flicker, wavelength, and orientation may also be present. However, these visual capacities are not accompanied by conscious awareness. The causes of blindsight are the subject of some debate: Because the neural pathway from the lateral geniculate nucleus to the striate cortex is nonfunctional in blindsighted people, it is thought that these capacities are either based on the visual collicular pathway (see colliculus; superior colliculus) or represent residual vision using surviving striate cortex. See also deaf hearing; numbsense.

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Psychology term of the day

February 23rd 2025

metaworry

1. persistent worry about one’s own thoughts and cognitive processes.

2. a negative metacognitive process in which one worries about one’s own worrying and about its potentially harmful effects on oneself. According to British psychologist Adrian Wells, who first described this process in 1994, it contributes to the development of generalized anxiety disorder.