THE FACTS
A recent column pointed out that some Americans,mostly those raised in the age before color television, dream only inblack and white. But that observation raised another question — whetherpeople who don’t see images during the day might see them when theyshut their eyes at night.
For people with normal vision,dreaming is intensely visual. The dream state typically involves vividscenes and imagery, much of it drawing upon our daytime experiences andconcerns (whether conscious or not). Auditory stimulation plays a smallrole, and the other senses, like taste and smell, are virtually absent.
Butstudies led by a psychologist at the University of Hartford show thatfor the blind, depending on when in life they lost their sense ofsight, the reverse seems to be true. People born without the ability tosee report no visual imagery in their dreams, but they do experience aheightening of taste, touch and smell. They also report a higherpercentage of dreams that involve mishaps related to traveling ortransportation, perhaps reflecting one of their biggest daytimeconcerns: safely finding their way around.
Although individualexperiences vary, researchers say people who go blind before age 5rarely experience visual imagery in their dreams. But those who losetheir vision after age 5 often continue to see in their dreams, thoughthe frequency and clarity diminish over time.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Many blind people dream without visual images.
© The New York Times. All rights reserved. This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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