Paul Bach-y-Rita (April 4, 1934 – November 20, 2006) was an American neuroscientist whose most notable work was in the field of

neuroplasticity Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity or just plasticity, is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through neurogenesis, growth and reorganization. Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to reorganize and rewir ...

. Bach-y-Rita was one of the first to seriously study the idea of neuroplasticity (although it was first proposed in the late 19th century), and to introduce sensory substitution as a tool to treat patients with neurological disorders. Bach-y-Rita is known as "the father of sensory substitution".

Biography

Bach-y-Rita was born on April 4, 1934, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to Anne Hyman and Pedro Bach-y-Rita, the latter a Catalan poet and teacher at

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

. He studied at the

Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science is a State school, public Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in the Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science ...

, from which he graduated at the age of fifteen before studying at Mexico City College (now the University of the Americas in Puebla). After his early education, he studied medicine at

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

(UNAM). He initially dropped out, going through several varied jobs, but later returned to finish his degree. After completing his degree, Bach-y-Rita worked for a short time as a

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

in the village of Tilzapotla in

Morelos Morelos, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos, is a landlocked state located in south-central Mexico. It is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Mun ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, before working for ten years at the

Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute is a nonprofit research institute in San Francisco, California, with a focus on vision science and rehabilitation engineering. It was founded in 1959 by Arthur Jampolsky and Alan B. Scott, when some memb ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, becoming a professor at the age of 37. He joined the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

in 1983 and became a professor at UW Medical school, Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation Medicine and the UW–Madison Engineering School, Department of Biomedical Engineering, while working at other organisations around the world. Bach-y-Rita died at his home on November 20, 2006.

Work in Sensory Substitution and Neuroplasticity

Bach-y-Rita's most notable work was in the field of

. He is seen as the first to propose the concept of sensory substitution to treat patients with disabilities, often those caused by neurological problems. One of the first applications of sensory substitution he created was a chair which allowed blind people to 'see'. The trials he conducted in 1969 are now regarded to be the first form of experimental evidence for neuroplasticity and the feasibility of sensory substitution. Later in his career, Bach-y-Rita created a device which enabled patients with damaged vestibular nuclei to regain their ability to remain balanced, by using an electrical stimulator placed on the tongue which reacted to a motion sensor affixed to the patient. This application enabled patients to remain balanced without the equipment after several weeks use."BrainPort balance device"
''How Stuff Works'' retrieved 3rd October 2009

Early research in Neuroscience

The chair he used had a bank of four hundred vibrating plates resting against the blind user's back, and vibrating in connection with a camera placed above the chair, looking forwards. The pattern in which the stimulation occurred enabled the user to "see", often being able to recognise an object coming towards the camera. Bach-y-Rita suggested this was an example of neuroplasticity, as he believed the signals sent to the brain from the skin via touch were being processed in the

visual cortex The visual cortex of the brain is the area of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information. It is located in the occipital lobe. Sensory input originating from the eyes travels through the lateral geniculate nucleus in the thalam ...

, because of the way the patients interpreted the information.

Using Neuroplasticity to treat balance disorders

One of his last applications of neuroplasticity was to treat patients with damaged

vestibular system The vestibular system, in vertebrates, is a sensory system that creates the sense of balance and spatial orientation for the purpose of coordinating motor coordination, movement with balance. Together with the cochlea, a part of the auditory sys ...

s, meaning they were unable to remain balanced. The device he created (now sold as '' Brainport'') consists of a group of accelerometers positioned on the patient and linked to a computer. The information is processed and fed to a small plate which is positioned on the patient's tongue (used because of the high density of

sensory receptor Sensory neurons, also known as afferent neurons, are neurons in the nervous system, that convert a specific type of stimulus, via their receptors, into action potentials or graded receptor potentials. This process is called sensory transduc ...

s). The device stimulates different areas of the tongue, depending on the orientation of the accelerometers. This stimulation enables the patient to stay balanced. However, after repeated use, Bach-y-Rita discovered that the patient remained balanced for a short time after using the device. After using the device for several weeks, the patient was completely cured, demonstrating another application of neuroplasticity in treating neurological disorders, and also the ability of the brain to adapt to repeated stimuli. Also created was a similar device that enables a patient to see by way of a camera attaching to his or her head and feeding information to the tongue.

Research into neuroplasticity to treat stroke patients

In 1959, Bach-y-Rita's father, Pedro, had a

cerebral infarction Cerebral infarction, also known as an ischemic stroke, is the pathologic process that results in an area of necrotic tissue in the brain (cerebral infarct). In mid to high income countries, a stroke is the main reason for disability among peo ...

(stroke) which caused

paralysis Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of Motor skill, motor function in one or more Skeletal muscle, muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory d ...

to one side of his body and damaged his ability to speak. George Bach-y-Rita—a psychiatrist and Paul's brother—succeeded in treating Pedro so that he was able to lead a normal life, despite the opinion of several doctors that this was impossible. When Pedro died, an autopsy, performed by Dr. Mary Jane Aguilar revealed that Paul's father Pedro had had a major stroke and had severe damage to a large portion of his

brain stem The brainstem (or brain stem) is the posterior stalk-like part of the brain that connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord. In the human brain the brainstem is composed of the midbrain, the pons, and the medulla oblongata. The midbrain is co ...

, which had not repaired itself after the stroke. The fact that he had made such a significant recovery suggested that his brain had reorganized itself, providing evidence for neuroplasticity.

References

External links

Seeing with Your Tongue: Sensory-substitution devices help blind and deaf people, but that’s just the beginning
at New Yorker magazine

at Salus University
Can You See with Your Tongue?
at discovermagazine.com
TCNL
at University of Wisconsin-Madison
BrainPort
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bach-Y-Rita, Paul 1934 births 2006 deaths American neuroscientists American people of Catalan descent Mexico City College alumni The Bronx High School of Science alumni Scientists from New York (state) Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute people