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In Touch: Schizophrenia and blindness, Hester Poole, and Nicholas Saunderson

10/03/2020

Schizophrenia and blindness, Hester Poole, and Nicholas Saunderson

BBC Radio 4 - In Touch, Schizophrenia and blindness, Hester Poole, and Nicholas Saunderson

Why does congenital blindness appear to be a barrier to schizophrenia?

It's a globe trotting episode with research from Australia, humanitarian work in Ethiopia  back to Barnsley for No Horizon - a musical about the life of Nicholas Saunderson.

The view persists that blindness can lead to other senses being somehow more acute - but are they just better trained?
The notion of "neuroplasticity" comes up in consideration of the work of our first guest, Professor Vera Morgan Head of the Neuropsychiatric Epidemiology Research Unit in the University of Western Australia. Her studies support the idea that the congenitally blind, or those who become blind in their early years are somehow protected from schizophrenia. If this is the case - could the cause of the phenomenon be harnassed to combat mental illness?

We hear again from 12-year-old Hester Poole, who visited a blind school in Africa and interviewed the lawyer and disability activist Yetnebersh Nigussie, who calls going blind "winning the lottery". 

And there are plenty of fascinating blind characters in history. But have you heard of Nicholas Saunderson? Born in Penistone in the 17th Century and blinded by smallpox as a baby, he went on to become Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge - a seat held by Sir Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawking. This fascinating character is now the subject of a musical, No Horizon. Director Andrew Loretto and leading man Adam Martin tell us about bringing a figure who may have been forgotten back into the limelight. 

Presented by Peter White.
Produced by Kevin Core.

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