Meet the Blind Pianist With an Amazing Brain That the Neuroscientists Are Studying

Child prodigy Matthew Whitaker is a jazz pianist that was born blind but was also able to make his mark in the music industry at an early age of nine. He started playing the piano around the world at the age of 11. He was so amazing that he caught the attention of many neuroscientists.

Whitaker was born with retinopathy of prematurity, which caused his blindness. But that did not stop him from being one the best pianists in his generation.

Neuroscientists conducted tests on Whitaker to understand how his brain works. They asked him to play a keyboard and participate in auditory tests while simultaneously completing an MRI scan.

The tests revealed that the visual cortex, the region that processes visual information, of Whitaker goes overdrive when he plays piano or hears music. This suggests that the blind pianist's brain uses this region to help him perceive music that was not stimulated by sight.

Matthew Whitaker: The Amazing Blind Pianist

Whitaker made his first appearance at the New Orleans Jazz Festival in the past spring. He described the experience as amazing, given that jazz music started there.

According to a CBS news report, the jazz pianist plays the piano with his shoes off to feel the pedals, and his head turned so he can feel the crowd. The sets he played were so complex and spontaneous that even seasoned jazz musicians sweat and jazz fans go wild.

Despite his talent, Whitaker said that he still feels nervous before a big show, but then it starts to go away as soon as he begins playing the piano. Besides, even with the thick crowd and 14 stages of music that often fades into the fairgrounds, Whitaker can still cut through the sensory assault and identify songs just seconds after hearing the music.

His parents, Moses and May Whitaker said that even before Matthew learned to talk, the pianist already has an exceptional ear for music. His first international gig was in Capri, Italy, where he impressed everyone, even seasoned jazz musicians. Since then, he has been playing the piano in 200 clubs around the world.

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Whitaker's Visual Cortex Goes Overdrive

His amazing achievements caught the attention of neuroscientists, including Dr. Charles Limb, who studies how exceptionally talented musicians' brains work. He brought Whitaker to take an MRI test at the University of California, San Francisco. At the same time, he gave Whitaker a small keyboard and asked him to play.

Furthermore, Whitaker also underwent a series of auditory tests where he listened to lectures and music. Dr. Limb noticed no activity in Whitaker's visual cortex when he was listening to lectures. But that was not the case when music was played.

When he put a soundtrack that Whitaker is familiar with, called the Snarky Puppy, his visual cortex that was not stimulated by sight is being activated to see music.

"It's borrowing that part of the brain and rewiring it to help him hear music," Limb said. He shared the results with Whitaker, who said that the results show his love for music.