Comparing the Effects of Congenital and Late Visual Impairments on Visuospatial Mental Abilities

This study compared participants who were congenitally visually impaired and those who became visually impaired later in life in a spatial memory task. The latter showed less efficient visuospatial processes than did the former. However, these differences were of a quantitative nature only, indicating common cognitive mechanisms that can be clearly differentiated from those of people who are congenitally blind.