London - People born blind have more accurate memories than those with sight, scientists say.
Those with no visual experience at all had the best verbal and memory skills in tests.
Researchers compared those born blind, others with late onset blindness and sighted people.
Participants listened to a series of words and was then asked to recall what they had heard.
The results showed that congenitally blind people remembered more words.
They were also less likely to create false memories of what they had heard. Research has shown we often recall words related to those we actually hear. For example, hearing the words chimney, cigar and fire could trigger a false memory of the word smoke.
Dr Achille Pasqualotto, who led the study for the University of Bath, said: “We found that congenitally blind participants reported significantly more correct words than both late-onset blind and sighted people”
Fellow researcher Dr Michael Proulx said: “There is an old Hebrew proverb that believes the blind were the most trustworthy sources for quotations and that certainly seems true in this case.” - Daily Mail