Echolocation: A Study of Auditory Functioning in Blind and Sighted Subjects

Abstract

This article describes an assessment of the peripheral and central auditory functioning of eight blind subjects who were good obstacle detectors and eight sighted subjects. An echolocation paradigm in short latency-evoked response was included. The study found that the blind subjects were better (faster) than the sighted subjects in auditory processing and that the echolocation signals may be processed in the superior olivary complex of the midbrain.