Learning to see: What children recovering from blindness teach us about the brain

What happens when vision is surgically restored years after birth in children born with congenital bilateral cataracts who grew up without meaningful visual input? This research examines how these children learn to integrate late-arriving vision with the other senses and use vision to guide actions. Findings from a long-term German–Israeli project in Ethiopia show that while some abilities, like multisensory integration, spatial representation, visuomotor recalibration, and postural control, develop substantially after surgery, others, like predictive visuomotor control, remain limited. Targeted multisensory training accelerates recovery, demonstrating the plasticity of the developing brain and the importance of rehabilitation beyond surgical intervention.