The Viral Blue or Gold Dress & Importance of Touch
The human brain has an extraordinary way of taking small electrical signals and transforming them into senses that are vital to human life and function; these senses include touch, sight, taste, sound, and smell. In this blog post, I will specifically be discussing sight and touch after reading the article "The Science of Why No One Agrees on the Color of This Dress" and listening to the audiocast "Why is it Important to be Touched". In the article, it is centered on the phenomenon that divided the world back in 2015; the infamous striped dress that people either saw as blue and black or white and gold. I remember being a freshman in highschool and arguing over what the actual color of the dress was (obviously it was blue and black) but I never could have imagined I would be reading about this same dress in Occupational Therapy School eight years later! In the article, the differences in color is chalked up to lighting, photoshop, and most importantly how everyone's brain processes color differently. The brain receives colors in the process of light being translated across the lense of the eye to the retina. Once the light has reached the retina, the signals are sent to the visual cortex where images and colors are then processed. While this system is the same in everyone, the way each individual processes colors is not and this can lead to discrepancies such as the viral dress.
The audiocast discusses the importance of regular/consistent touch in humans and how vital it is for healthy cognitive and physical development. Scientist David Linden addresses this idea in his TedTalk further elaborating on how the absence of human touch in children can lead to physical impairments such as stunted growth and cognitive impairments such as compulsive self soothing behaviors and mental delays. Linden also talks about how the science behind touch is greatly understudied, and scientists are not sure as to why the absence of touch could lead to these symptoms in children who do not receive touch in a loving or caring way.
Touch and sight are both vital to human survival and with a decline in these senses, comes a decline in happiness and fulfillment. As future Occupational Therapist's, it is important we understand how these systems work in order to promote healthy brain function through activities in our client's. An extremely important concept for us to know is neuroplasticity; which is the brain's ability to create connections between neurons in response to different emotional and environmental situations. OT's must keep in mind that one's brain never stops changing over the course of their lifetime and their senses, such as sight and touch, will constantly be altered as they age and we must use this information in creating useful care plans tailored to fit the needs of each individual and curate activities that exercise each of the five sensory systems.
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