In the New York Times Really? column, Anahad O'Connor explores the claim that blindness may heighten other senses. "In one series of studies, neuroscientists at McGill University tested blind and sighted subjects for pitch perception and their ability to locate sounds." The researchers found that "those who were born blind did best," while "those who became blind as small children were slightly behind, and those who lost their vision after age 10 did no better than the sighted subjects," indicating that a young brain could be rewired so that visual-processing areas were used for other purposes.

Meanwhile, brain-imaging studies indicated that blind subjects who were best able to locate sound were engaging both the auditory and the visual areas of the cortex.
Here is a nice summary of the visual system from Mcgill's guided tour of the brain

Posted in: Blindness, Brain, Health, McGill University, Neuroimaging, Sense, Visual system