Interview

The benefits of Cognitive Science

Pawan Sinha is associate professor of computational and visual neuroscience in the department of  brain and cognitive science at the MIT. A recipient of the Alfred P Sloan Foundation Fellowship in Neuroscience, Sinha’s current research is on how the human brain learns to make sense of visual information from eyes. He talks to Meera Vohra about Project Prakash, a research initiative to improve the lives of visually impaired children in India.

What is Project Prakash all about?

Project Prakash was initiated three years ago. It has dual aspects, humanitarian and scientific. It focuses on the large population of visually impaired children in India, whose number increase by 1,00,000 every year, according to WHO. Under the humanitarian aspect, visually impaired children are identified and given the requisite treatment. While visiting India, I came across several cases in clinics in Delhi, which were treatable. It was either due to lack of awareness or due to financial constraints that they were not being addressed. This prompted me to start this project, under which children are given treatment free of cost.

What is the scientific aspect of the project?

It gives an opportunity for scientific research on how the brain learns to see. Until now, experiments, even internationally, regarding this were done on babies, which were difficult due to their inability to explain things. However, in Project Prakash, people aged between five and 25 years are treated for congenital blindness. Post–operation they are able to see things for the first time. Since they have the ability to speak and explain things, there is scope for research. This project would also help in assessing the brain’s ability to learn new things or brain plasticity. Findings from this project would facilitate setting up rehabilitation schemes for blind children to ensure their integration in the mainstream.

What kind of infrastructure do you know require for Project Prakash?

For treatment, we require dedicated doctors especially pediatricians and operations rooms. We also need social workers to do screenings at various eye camps organized in villages. So far, nearly 1,000 persons have been operated for congenital blindness with positive results. People from places like Delhi, Haryana, and Rajasthan have been treated under this project. For this, we have collaborated with an eye clinic in Delhi, but would soon expand it to other parts of the country.

Does cognitive science help the visually impaired?

It surely does. In fact, it is a two way process. Cognitive science tells us what process of the brain are affected, which helps us to design treatment for the visually impaired through their interpretation provide new pieces of information to cognitive science.

Sourceby: Many visually impaired children can be cured, The Times of India, Daily, New Delhi 19 Oct 2006.