Hacking My Child's Brain

As you read this, your brain is doing more with light than just producing vision. Some of that light travels via the accessory optic system to your pineal gland and hypothalamus. Light thus has direct effects on regulation of energy, sleep, hunger, breathing, growth, and even reproduction. And all of this is color-sensitive.

As I found with my son, if something impedes your vision and reception of color, the consequences throughout your brain and body are serious.

Do You See What I See?

The human eye detects color, thanks to the concentration of cones in the fovea centralis. This area is right in the middle of the back of your eye, as wide as the tip of a ballpoint pen. Because this area is so small, the angle of color perception in your field of vision is much narrower than light detection in general. (To test this on yourself, try this do-it-yourself peripheral vision test.)

Scientists are learning that the visual cortex isn’t just for visual perception. A study at MIT on rats found that learning also takes place in the visual cortex; visual cues were tied to non-visual events. Vision problems in a person can thus have causal links to learning disabilities and even memory impairment.

When I took my son Caleb to the Sensory Learning Center last week for testing, we found that he has a constricted field of vision, both for color detection and light detection in general.

For many people with Sensory Processing Disorder, their color perception and general field of vision is constricted. This isn’t usually due to a physical problem with the eye, but a processing one in the brain – it can’t (or just doesn’t) handle all the visual information coming in.

So what happens when your ability to process color is hampered? One 1980 study published in the medical journal Opthalmologica found that long-term exposure to cool-white, artificial light increases stress in your brain. (Such lights are usually anemic in the red and blue-violet frequencies.) School children in classrooms with artificial, limited-spectrum lighting often experience agitated physical behavior, fatigue, and reduced mental capabilities. The problem in this kind of situation is clearly environmental, but the effects are similar for people who have a constricted field of vision and constricted color perception.

The medical field specializing in the effects of colored light in the brain is known as Syntonics, a field that has been actively researched since the 1920s. Studies in this field have revealed links between color processing and problems with attention span, reading, coordination, balance, and sleep disorders. The field has also produced light therapy treatments with remarkable results.

The Vision Hack

The next part of Caleb’s brain hack at the Institute will involve the use of intense colored lights that are tuned to very specific frequencies. These colors have been found to create synaptic responses in different parts of the brain. He will be in a completely dark room, staring at a pulsing colored light twice a day for half an hour. This will continue for 12 days at the clinic, and then I’ll use a portable light kit at home with him for 18 more days.

When I first started reading about this kind of light therapy, I was skeptical. But quantifiable research shows it can expand a patient’s field of vision. Especially compelling are the findings of Dr. Jack Liberman published in the Journal of Optometric Vision Development. His study, “The Effect of Syntonic (Colored Light) Stimulation On Certain Visual and Cognitive Functions (pdf)” had these conclusions:

“The results of this study clearly indicate that the use of colored light therapy (syntonics), will produce very significant improvements in certain visual and cognitive functions. It confirms the previous clinical and research data that visual field constrictions enlarge significantly and within a short period of time with the application of the appropriate syntonic treatment…. From the results of this study, it is apparent that syntonics increased all aspects of memory evaluated, and it produced very significant changes in the areas of visual-memory. These results indicate that syntonics increases one’s receptivity to both visual and auditory information, as well as one’s level of integration between visual, auditory, verbal, and motor systems.”

Digging deeper into syntonics research, it would appear that certain colors also trigger responses in different areas of the brain. I am told that many programs using syntonics will try to match specific colors to specific problems. The approach with Caleb will be to use a range of colors over time, following the theory that he will benefit from having all neural regions “exercised”, rather than just one or two.

This treatment (or “sensory intervention” as they say at the Institute) has been highly successful in helping patients develop a widened field of vision. With that often comes better memory, learning, situational awareness, and even social skills. Our hope is that Caleb will experience the same benefits.

Moving Ahead

There is a third modality involved in Caleb's overall treatment: stimulation of the vestibular system. Many children with Sensory Processing Disorder experience significant problems coordinating their motor systems with visual and auditory inputs. I’ll talk about that in the next part of this series.