In summary, a study carried out at the John Hopkins University has revealed that the human brain relies on barriers such as walls and curbs when directing a person’s navigation of the environment. Researchers at the Institute have been able to pinpoint specific areas of the brain that show sensitivity to the smallest of such boundaries. The researchers found two distinct regions of the brain where one is sensitive to visual boundaries such as vertical walls or curbs. The other area reacts when the visual boundary happens to be substantially tall enough to hinder a person’s movement. According to one of the authors, Soojin Park, the study shows that there is ecological validity to a boundary (even the smallest one). She also added that how we move about is heavily influenced by the boundaries in our environment, and thus it leads us to inquire the kind of neural mechanism behind it. The study was carried out on 12 individuals who were shown a flat mat with different objects displayed on it, a mat circumvented by a wall and also a mat surrounded by moderate restraint. It was then discovered that the visual areas of the subject’s brains became increasingly responsive in proportion to the increase in size of the boundaries. http://www.shopife.com/the-brains-super-sensitivity-to-curbs/ Study: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0028393216301634
