Some blind people have developed a unique technique, called echolocation, to orient themselves in unknown environments. More specifically, by self-generating clicking noise with the tongue, echolocators gain knowledge about external environment perceiving more detailed object features. It is not clear date whether sighted individuals can also develop such an extremely useful technique. To investigate this, here we test ability of novice participants perform depth echolocation task. Moreover,...

Abstract Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is the most dramatic form of progressive heterotopic ossification soft tissues. Hearing impairment in FOP patient a common feature, reported by about 50% affected patients. However, wide case series considering audiologic features are lacking. We report history group patients order to define hearing loss characteristics, genotype association, and possible rehabilitative options. audiometric 16 referred our Institute from 2014 onwards...

Background: When engaging with the environment, multisensory cues interact and are integrated to create a coherent representation of world around us, process that has been suggested be affected by lack visual feedback in blind individuals. In addition, presence voluntary movement can responsible for suppressing somatosensory information processed cortex, which might lead worse encoding tactile information. Objectives: this work, we aim explore how cross-modal interaction active movements...

The central tendency effect emphasizes the use of priors by brain for perceptual optimization within a Bayesian framework. This study explores impact blindness on and prior utilization in distance estimation auditory task testing group early blinds, late sighted participants. results showed that blind individuals exhibit general impairment compared to controls Notably, although all groups effect, it was almost complete group. modeling reveals suboptimal but not blind. Our findings highlight...

Deception is a complex social skill present in human interactions. Many professions such as teachers, therapists and law enforcement officers leverage on deception detection techniques to support their working activities. Robots with the ability autonomously detect could provide an important aid human-human human-robot The objective of this work demonstrate that it possible develop lie system be implemented robots. To goal, we focus robot interaction understand if there difference behavior...

Visual information is paramount to space perception. Vision influences auditory estimation. Many studies show that simultaneous visual and cues improve precision of the final multisensory estimate. However, amount or temporal extent information, sufficient influence perception, still unknown. It therefore interesting know if vision can through a short-term environmental observation preceding audio task whether this task-specific environment-specific both. To test these issues we investigate...

Size perception can be influenced by several visual cues, such as spatial (e.g., depth or vergence) and temporal contextual cues adaptation to steady stimulation). Nevertheless, is generally multisensory other sensory modalities, auditory, contribute the functional estimation of size objects. In this study, we investigate whether auditory stimuli at different sound pitches influence after adaptation. To aim, used an paradigm (Pooresmaeili et al., 2013) in three experimental conditions:...

Visual information is extremely important to generate internal spatial representations. In the auditory modality, absence of visual cues during early infancy does not preclude development some strategies. However, specific abilities might result impaired. current study, we investigated effect deprivation on ability localize static and moving stimuli by comparing sighted blind individuals' performance in different tasks. We also examined perceptual stability two groups participants matching...

Sensory adaptation is a feature-specific modulation of neural responses and potentially fundamental to maximizing perceptual sensitivity. Despite its function being unclear, it has been hypothesized that sensory modifies the neurons' response codes, increasing ability process signals on larger scale. To better understand how such flexibility our brain possible, we investigated effect high- low-frequency vibrotactile perceived tactile temporal frequency during childhood, time known for...

Moderate physical activity can influence cognitive functions and visual cortical activity. However, little is known about the effects of exercise on fundamental perceptual domains, such as spatial temporal representation. Here we tackled this issue by testing impact a estimation task in group adult volunteers three different conditions: (1) resting condition (baseline), (2) during moderate (cycling place - PA), (3) approximately 15 to 20 min following phase, which participants were seated...

This study investigated the influence of body motion on an echolocation task. We asked a group blindfolded novice sighted participants to walk along corridor, made with plastic sound-reflecting panels. By self-generating mouth clicks, attempted understand some spatial properties i.e. left turn, right turn or dead end. They were explore corridor and stop whenever they confident about shape. Their was captured by camera system coded. Most able accomplish task percentage correct guesses above...

We live in a multisensory world where all our sensory systems are constantly stimulated and different signals need to be integrated. Many works show that the brain is able integrate redundant of particular property. However, date, there no solutions investigate how auditory, visual tactile information integrated by considering spatial, temporal body representations. The goal this work present new system has been developed for assessing integration also its movements space. system, called MSI...

Abstract When we perform an action, self-elicited movement induces suppression of somatosensory information to the cortex, requiring a correct motor-sensory and inter-sensory (i.e. cutaneous senses, kinesthesia, proprioception) integration processes be successful. However, recent works show that blindness might impact some these elements. The current study investigates effect on tactile perception role vision in this process. We measured velocity discrimination threshold 18 sighted blind...

One of the most important tasks for visual system is to construct an internal representation spatial properties objects, including their size. Size perception includes a combination bottom-up (retinal inputs) and top-down (e.g. expectations) information, which makes estimates object size malleable susceptible numerous contextual cues. For example, it has been shown that prone adaptation: brief previous presentations larger or smaller adapting stimuli at same region space changes perceived...

Peripersonal space (PPS) is created by a multisensory interaction between different sensory modalities and can be modified experience. In this article, we investigated whether an auditory training, inside the peripersonal area, modify PPS around head in sighted participants. The training was based on echolocation. We measured participant's reaction times to tactile stimulation neck, while task-irrelevant looming stimuli were presented. Sounds more strongly affect processing when located...

Developmental studies have shown that children can associate visual size with non-visual and apparently unrelated stimuli, such as pure tone frequencies. Most research to date has focused on audio-visual associations by showing low frequencies large objects, high small objects. Researchers relate these findings coarser association, i.e., less precise for which binary categories of stimuli are used in the case versus stimuli. This study investigates how finer, more precise, crossmodal develop...

Echolocation is a perceptual and navigational skill that can be acquired by some individuals. Regarding blind people, this help them "see" the environment around via new form of auditory information based on echoes. Expert human echolocators benefit from using technique not only in controlled environments but also their everyday lives. In current study, we investigate effect echolocation people's spatial abilities at cortical level. an bisection task, tested people who are early blinds...

Number sense is the ability to estimate number of items, and it common many species. Despite numerous studies dedicated unveiling how numerosity processed in human brain, date, not clear whether representation supported by a single general mechanism or multiple mechanisms. Since known that deafness entails selective impairment processing temporal information, we assessed approximate numerical abilities deaf individuals disentangle these two hypotheses. We used discrimination task (2AFC) an...

Past research investigating the spatial abilities of visually impaired people, provided conflicting results. There is thus an urgent need to develop standardized tests for evaluation cognition when vision absent or disrupted. To this aim, we developed a haptic version Kohs Block Design Test and investigated non-verbal reasoning early blind, late blind sighted individuals. Participants reproduced 3D printed configurations by assembling blocks with different textures, within time limit....

With this work, we introduce a novel Android app designed to monitor and enhance auditory tactile temporal sensitivity. To assess the app's reliability, tested its technical performance evaluating stimuli production's accuracy (i.e., onset, offset, duration of stimulation). validate with participants generated intervals, using either sounds or vibratory stimuli, by implementing two versions Two-Alternative Forced-Choice (2AFC) task. Auditory sensitivity 12 was evaluated procedure....

Lie detection is a necessary skill for variety of social professions, including teachers, reporters, therapists, and law enforcement officers. Autonomous system robots should acquire such to support professionals in numerous working contexts. Inspired by literature on human-human interaction, this work investigates whether the behavioral cues associated lying - eye movements response temporal features are apparent also during human-humanoid interaction can be leveraged robot detect...

Associations between sensory features of different natures are defined as crossmodal correspondences. In the context size perception, low pitch sound frequencies often associated with larger objects and high smaller objects. Here we investigate such correspondences in sighted visually-impaired children. Experiment 1, after listening to sounds (250–5000 Hz pure tones), children aged 6–11 years were asked draw a circle "as big was". 2, 6–14 who blind or had vision performed similar task....