In an intriguing new study, scientists at the University of Wales worked with a blind patient who seems to possess a sixth sense that allows him to recognize sad, angry, or happy faces. Patient X, age 52, cannot see after having two different strokes, which damaged the brain areas that process visual signals. However, brain scans reveal that when he looks at faces expressing emotion, another part of his brain besides the visual cortex is activated—the amygdala. This small structure responds to nonverbal facial signs (or memories) depicting anger and fear.8
