Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms Commons^™

Seeing With Sound: Investigating The Behavioural Applications And Neural Correlates Of Human Echolocation, Jennifer L. Milne

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Some blind humans use the reflected echoes from self-produced signals to perceive their silent surroundings. Although the use of echolocation is well documented in animals such as bats and dolphins, comparatively little is known about human echolocation. The overarching goal of the work presented in this thesis was to shed light on some of the basic functions of human echolocation, including the perception of the shape, size, and material. I addressed these aspects of echolocation using behavioural psychophysics and neuroimaging.

In Chapter 2 I show that blind echolocators were able to accurately identify the shape of 2D objects, but that …