Kolarik_2017.pdf (2.08 MB)
Blindness enhances auditory obstacle circumvention: Assessing echolocation, sensory substitution, and visual-based navigation
journal contribution
posted on 2023-07-26, 14:05 authored by Andrew J. Kolarik, Amy C. Scarfe, Brian C. J. Moore, Shahina PardhanPerformance for an obstacle circumvention task was assessed under conditions of visual, auditory only (using echolocation) and tactile (using a sensory substitution device, SSD) guidance. A Vicon motion capture system was used to measure human movement kinematics objectively. Ten normally sighted participants, 8 blind non-echolocators, and 1 blind expert echolocator navigated around a 0.6 x 2 m obstacle that was varied in position across trials, at the midline of the participant or 25 cm to the right or left. Although visual guidance was the most effective, participants successfully circumvented the obstacle in the majority of trials under auditory or SSD guidance. Using audition, blind non-echolocators navigated more effectively than blindfolded sighted individuals with fewer collisions, lower movement times, fewer velocity corrections and greater obstacle detection ranges. The blind expert echolocator displayed performance similar to or better than that for the other groups using audition, but was comparable to that for the other groups using the SSD. The generally better performance of blind than of sighted participants is consistent with the perceptual enhancement hypothesis that individuals with severe visual deficits develop improved auditory abilities to compensate for visual loss, here shown by faster, more fluid, and more accurate navigation around obstacles using sound.
History
Refereed
- Yes
Volume
12Issue number
4Page range
e0175750Publication title
PLOS ONEISSN
1932-6203External DOI
Publisher
Public Library of ScienceFile version
- Published version
Language
- eng
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Legacy posted date
2017-04-06Legacy creation date
2017-03-31Legacy Faculty/School/Department
ARCHIVED Faculty of Medical Science (until September 2018)Usage metrics
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