Early visual cortex response for sound in expert blind echolocators, but not in early blind non-echolocators

Tonelli, Alessia; Campus, Claudio; Gori, Monica

doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107617

Cited by 5 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Thus, although previous research has shown that blind echolocation experts performed better than blind participants on both of these tasks of auditory localization (Tonelli et al 2020 ; Vercillo et al 2015 ), we did not find evidence supporting the idea that performance improved with echolocation training in blind people. It is important to note that this null effect is not due to a limited ability of participants to learn click-based echolocation—in fact, participants’ performance in click-based echolocation improved in three different echolocation tasks (size discrimination, orientation identification, virtual navigation) to a level that in most (but not all) cases matched performance demonstrated by experts (Norman et al 2021 ; and Supplementary Material S1).…”

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…In conclusion, at this point our findings in combination with previous reports (Tonelli et al 2020;Vercillo et al 2015) neither support nor refute the idea that click-based echolocation may replace the role played by visual sensory calibration. Click-based echolocation has benefits for people who are blind in terms of mobility, independence and wellbeing (Norman et al 2021;Thaler 2013).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…Click-based echolocation has benefits for people who are blind in terms of mobility, independence and wellbeing (Norman et al 2021;Thaler 2013). Thus, based on the practical relevance of this skill for people with vision impairments, we strongly suggest that future research is needed to determine if training in click-based echolocation over longer periods of time may improve auditory localization skills in people who are blind, and to identify if other factors can explain the association between echolocation expertise and superior auditory localization that have been reported previously (Tonelli et al 2020;Vercillo et al 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most relevant to the question of whether calibration of spatial representations can take place in the absence of visual experience, it has been found that people who are blind but who use click-based echolocation do not show performance deficits in auditory spatial bisection tasks (Tonelli et al 2020 ; Vercillo et al 2015 ). They also showed superior performance in tests measuring minimum audible angles, as compared to people who are sighted or to people who are blind and do not use click-based echolocation (Vercillo et al 2015 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They also showed superior performance in tests measuring minimum audible angles, as compared to people who are sighted or to people who are blind and do not use click-based echolocation (Vercillo et al 2015 ). Based on these findings it has been suggested that click-based echolocation may not only help in the calibration of auditory space for people who are blind, but that for spatial bisection, it might possibly even substitute for the role played by visual sensory calibration (Tonelli et al 2020 ; Vercillo et al 2015 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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No effect of 10-week training in click-based echolocation on auditory localization in people who are blind

Thaler

Norman

2021

Exp Brain Res

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What factors are important in the calibration of mental representations of auditory space? A substantial body of research investigating the audiospatial abilities of people who are blind has shown that visual experience might be an important factor for accurate performance in some audiospatial tasks. Yet, it has also been shown that long-term experience using click-based echolocation might play a similar role, with blind expert echolocators demonstrating auditory localization abilities that are superior to those of people who are blind and who do not use click-based echolocation by Vercillo et al. (Neuropsychologia 67: 35–40, 2015). Based on this hypothesis we might predict that training in click-based echolocation may lead to improvement in performance in auditory localization tasks in people who are blind. Here we investigated this hypothesis in a sample of 12 adult people who have been blind from birth. We did not find evidence for an improvement in performance in auditory localization after 10 weeks of training despite significant improvement in echolocation ability. It is possible that longer-term experience with click-based echolocation is required for effects to develop, or that other factors can explain the association between echolocation expertise and superior auditory localization. Considering the practical relevance of click-based echolocation for people who are visually impaired, future research should address these questions.

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Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

No effect of 10-week training in click-based echolocation on auditory localization in people who are blind

Thaler

Norman

2021

Exp Brain Res

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The effects of abnormal visual experience on neurodevelopmental disorders

Fakheir,

Khalil

2023

Developmental Psychobiology

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Normal visual development is supported by intrinsic neurobiological mechanisms and by appropriate stimulation from the environment, both of which facilitate the maturation of visual functions. However, an offset of this balance can give rise to visual disorders. Therefore, understanding the factors that support normal vision during development and in the mature brain is important, as vision guides movement, enables social interaction, and allows children to recognize and understand their environment. In this paper, we review fundamental mechanisms that support the maturation of visual functions and discuss and draw links between the perceptual and neurobiological impairments in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia. We aim to explore how this is evident in the case of ASD, and how perceptual and neurobiological deficits further degrade social ability. Furthermore, we describe the altered perceptual experience of those with schizophrenia and evaluate theories of the underlying neural deficits that alter perception.

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Multisensory representations of space and time in sensory cortices

Gori

Bertonati

Campus

et al. 2022

Human Brain Mapping

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Clear evidence demonstrated a supramodal organization of sensory cortices with multisensory processing occurring even at early stages of information encoding. Within this context, early recruitment of sensory areas is necessary for the development of fine domain-specific (i.e., spatial or temporal) skills regardless of the sensory modality involved, with auditory areas playing a crucial role in temporal processing and visual areas in spatial processing. Given the domain-specificity and the multisensory nature of sensory areas, in this study, we hypothesized that preferential domains of representation (i.e., space and time) of visual and auditory cortices are also evident in the early processing of multisensory information. Thus, we measured the event-related potential (ERP) responses of 16 participants while performing multisensory spatial and temporal bisection tasks. Audiovisual stimuli occurred at three different spatial positions and time lags and participants had to evaluate whether the second stimulus was spatially (spatial bisection task) or temporally (temporal bisection task) farther from the first or third audiovisual stimulus. As predicted, the second audiovisual stimulus of both spatial and temporal bisection tasks elicited an early ERP response (time window 50-90 ms) in visual and auditory regions. However, this early ERP component was more substantial in the occipital areas during the spatial bisection task, and in the temporal regions during the temporal bisection task. Overall, these results confirmed the domain specificity of visual and auditory cortices and revealed that this aspect selectively modulates also the cortical activity in response to multisensory stimuli.

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Early visual cortex response for sound in expert blind echolocators, but not in early blind non-echolocators

Cited by 5 publications

References 46 publications

No effect of 10-week training in click-based echolocation on auditory localization in people who are blind

No effect of 10-week training in click-based echolocation on auditory localization in people who are blind

The effects of abnormal visual experience on neurodevelopmental disorders

Multisensory representations of space and time in sensory cortices

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