A previous post here mentioned how brain plasticity is being tapped in developing therapy applications like constraint-induced movement therapy. Teaching the brain to see -- Newsday.com takes this idea into another sort of rehab. Dr. Randolph Marshall, a neurologist at Columbia University Medical Center is testing a computer program on people who have lost some of their eye sight to stroke or other brain trauma. It's a natural follow on to the movement stuff:

The idea of strengthening the visual areas of the brain was born out of work done on stroke patients to strengthen weakened limbs. By tying down the stronger arm, the patient's weaker arm was trained to move more robustly. The brain's motor system was actually repairing itself.

The computer program works by having patients focus on an on-screen dot, and pressing various keys in reaction to shapes that move around the screen. They spend lots of time doing this, twice a day six days a week. And they have to do it for six months.

Time spent with the computer seems to be helping. Marshall reports 65 percent show improvement, with blind fields reduced by 20%.

This is plasticity at work again.

We are now trying to figure out what is going on in the brain," said Marshall, who is working with the makers of the device, Nova Vision, to design ways to measure brain plasticity or ability to self-repair. "We think that parts of the brain are taking over for the damaged areas."