gh PEOPLE CAN SEE WITH CLOSED EYES

The alternative sight training by the method of Viacheslav Bronnikov consists of three phases. Each phase includes 10 lessons lasting for 2 hours each during a month period. After the training people, be them healthy or suffering from visual impairment, or even completely blind, are able to read with their eyes closed.

Russian physiologists under the guidance of Professor Natalia Bekhtereva have examined seven adolescents being from 10 to 17 years old, who underwent the alternative sight training. Some of them finished the training only several months ago, and one of the examined teenagers had been applying this method for as long as eight years. The teenagers' regular vision varied significantly: some had normal vision, others could hardly see anything. A black mask was put on the faces of the examined teenagers, the mask being made of opaque fabric and closing the face from the forehead down to the lips. The teenagers were asked to read an extract from a book, brochure or an advertisement offered by the researcher, or the teenagers were asked to discern the letters, numbers or characters which appeared on the PC monitor . The young people were cooperative and diligently fulfilled all the tasks. The teenagers had had no access to the mask prior to the experiment, there were no reflecting surfaces in the room, the distance between the teenagers and the monitor made 120 cm. The books used for the experiment were regular ones, and the examined teenagers were reading them in a common way, without touching the page with their fingers. In the course of the experiment all the researchers were placed at the distance of three meters from the teenagers, thus any contacts between them were impossible. In other words, the conditions of the experiment excluded any possibility of fraud.

To be able to see when in the black mask the examined teenagers had to 'switch on' the alternative sight and so they did upon the researchers' request. Using the alternative sight, the teenagers could read any texts, discern all the characters they were shown and could easily find their way in unfamiliar surroundings. To understand the processes going in the brain of the examined, the scientists recorded the ElectroEncephaloGrams of the teenagers when they were using their regular sight and when they were reading with their eyes closed. It turned out that 'switching on' of the alternative sight would change the electrical activity of the brain. Its electrical frequency would become higher, especially in the cerebral frontal region, this being the sign of the increased activity. It appears that the brain 'switches' from the regular mode to the one which involves the cerebrum super capabilities.

Russian scientists recognise the existence of the alternative sight. On top of that, it appears that this phenomenon is not a unique capability of rare individuals, as the researchers are able to teach people to employ the alternative vision. The researchers use a 'direct sight' term to emphasise the fact that it is possible to see without the image projection on the eyes retina. In the course of this process the brain cells are directly activated by the external factors, such as electromagnetic waves. Another hypothesis offers the following explanation: "This conclusion is not a gospel-truth but a preliminary assumption. However, based on all the currently available information, we may suggest that the alternative sight is effected through the skin. So far there is no direct proof of this fact, but a number of indirect evidences exists." Some of these indirect evidences are given below. In the process of the embryo development the skin is formed from the same germ as the nervous system is. Those individuals who are mastering alternative sight learn to match the tactile sensations with the colours and other properties of the objects. In wild nature the phenomenon of the sight through the body surface ('skin sight') has already been known to the science - this is the way some of the sea invertebrates and butterflies see. And, finally, almost all people are able to discern words, numeric symbols and images by touch, this phenomenon being reinforced with training. The researchers believe that the alternative sight mastering does not only reveal potential capabilities of the skin, but it is able to retrain the brain, thus demonstrating the cerebrum unlimited abilities. Having proposed this hypothesis, the authors emphasise that it is preliminary and a very vague one. They consider their study to be a pilot research.

Human physiology, 2002, vol. 28, # 1, in Russian language

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