Feature: Giving blind people sight illuminates the brain's secrets

To protect the heads of football players, it might be advisable to have them occasionally practice without head protection, according to a counterintuitive new study of a successful Division I football program.

Research has shown the importance of infant-primary caregiver attachment for the future of the child's cognitive ability, emotional health, and parent relationship. Infant Mental Health Specialists and other practitioners have emphasized programs and techniques to improve this relationship, for example infant massage classes, and specifically tailored interventions.

The World Health Organization estimates that $200 billion worth of productivity is lost every year due to untreated poor eyesight. Several organizations, such as EYElliance and Aravind Eye Hospital, are working to combat this problem by administering free vision tests and helping people who need glasses get them at an affordable rate.

Research has found that physical movement, such as dance, can be an affective treatment and rehabilitation for people with Parkinson’s Disease. The Dance Well Initiative brings people with Parkinson’s, as well as community members, together to stage dance performances in gallery spaces as treatment and a creative response to the surrounding art.

A new tablet, called the Feelif multimedia device, allows blind children to learn braille and geometry and play interactive learning games with their fingers. The device allows children to create drawings and write on a tablet and then feel what they've created in a 3 dimensional way.

A collaboration between a Parkinson’s disease support group and a New York City dance company created a program of movement for people managing the disease. Besides an improvement in physical mobility, participation also gave people an increase in self-esteem and cognitive function.

In San Diego, Little Angels Service Dogs are being trained to not just assist people but also recognize symptoms leading up to seizures. This practice allows people to proactively handle their seizures before they happen.

Compared to India's population, the country is facing a shortage of eye doctors, but artificial intelligence may help close that gap. Partnering with Google artificial intelligence researchers, an eye hospital in India is working towards detecting diseases that can cause blindness by automating the process that leads to a diagnosis.

An ophthalmologist has created a smartphone application that allows not just doctors, but also non-specialists such as teachers, to conduct eye tests. The application helps those living in remote areas to access a service they otherwise may not be able to get and also allows for the few ophthalmologists who live in the area to only see the cases that are deemed necessary.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation is being used to treat people with treatment-resistant depression. The noninvasive procedure uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerves in the brain to improve symptoms of depression. So far 19 people have undergone the program at Brattleboro Retreat — many of which have seen improvements in their symptoms — and more than 300 treatments have been completed to date.