People who are blind from birth never develop schizophrenia
2026-05-09 00:24 UTC
Replies (11)
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@Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 2026-05-09 21:42
Maybe they do but they just don't know the voices they hear are in their head
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@givesomefucks@lemmy.world 2026-05-09 01:28
Meh... Schizophrenia is really fucking hard to diagnose, someone whose never been able to see, can't experience visual hallucinations, they just can't. And that's the main symptom, the one that people not only experience but can *usually* eventually figure out aren't real. They can experience auditory hallucinations, but are likely to have not only an inner monologue, but a richer one with more variation due to no vision. Creating narratives even subconsciously would help navigate figuratively and literally. With relaying on hearing so much, "false positives" would also likely be common, a study on how often blind people think they may have heard something may shed light. "Did someone say something" moments may mask auditory hallucinations. It's entirely possible there's blind schizophrenics, and they're either misdiagnosed or undiagnosed. One thing that is weird, people born deaf also can't experience auditory hallucinations, so instead they experience "floating hands" visual hallucinations that angrily sign at them. So I'd be curious into research if schizophrenia in someone whose never experienced sight is exhibited in a radically different way. The symptoms are still just symptoms, they're not what's causing the issue. So it would make sense when such fundamental systems as vision and hearing are interrupted, symptoms may manifest in radically different ways, or even unnoticeable ways
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@flango@lemmy.eco.br 2026-05-09 14:20
correlation is not causation
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@Dasus@lemmy.world 2026-05-09 06:48
I'm skeptical, yet very interested.
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@Cytobit@piefed.social 2026-05-09 01:04
> The most rigorous evidence comes from a 2018 whole-population study tracking nearly half a million children born in Western Australia between 1980 and 2001. Of those, 1,870 developed schizophrenia, but not one of the 66 children with cortical blindness did. 1,870 / 500,000 = 0.374% of people in the general population 0.374% * 66 = 0.25 Not particularly rigorous.
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@antlion@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2026-05-09 19:51
What about those who are blinded later? Are blindfolds a cure for schizophrenia?
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@Gold_E_Lox@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2026-05-09 00:43
[The study](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4246684/) that is mostly discussed in tge article.
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@just_another_person@lemmy.world 2026-05-09 01:34
This sounds like some RFK "facts" bullshit. I assume the number is not actually zero, but will wait for the math.
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@captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 2026-05-09 19:11
Suppose my reaction to that is "Really? No known cases of schizophrenia among those blind since birth? They should study that."
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@givesomefucks@lemmy.world 2026-05-09 04:50
> Everyone is so cynical in this thread Literally how the scientific process works....
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@givesomefucks@lemmy.world 2026-05-09 05:16
.... No, skepticism isn't enough. It's the cynicism and frustration from knowing someone is clearly and obviously wrong and putting in the effort to prove it that drives science. "Curiosity" is a bullshit narrative they tell children in grade school because children are curious and adults want them to like science Cynicism and often outright spite is what has always driven scientific progress. Someone makes a claim that is clearly wrong but is too overconfident to be convinced unless empirically proven wrong so everyone else changes their minds. It's literally the only reason I put the time in to type this, and you and lurker get to reap the rewards if that. Perpetuating the cycle.