Human echolocation operates as a viable “sense,” working in tandem with other senses to deliver information to people with visual impairment, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
Ironically, the proof for the vision-like qualities of echolocation came from blind echolocators wrongly judging how heavy objects of different sizes felt.
The experiment, conducted by psychological scientist Gavin Buckingham of Heriot-Watt University in Scotland and his colleagues at the Brain and Mind Institute at Western University in Canada, demonstrated that echolocators experience a “size-weight illusion” when they use their echolocation to get a sense of how big objects are, in just the same way as sighted people do when using their normal vision.
“Some blind people use echolocation to assess their environment and find their way around,” said Buckingham. “They will either snap their fingers or click their tongue to bounce sound waves off objects, a skill often associated with bats, which use echolocation when flying. However, we don’t yet understand how much echolocation in humans has in common with how a sighted individual would use their vision.”
The researchers had three groups taking part in the experiment: blind echolocators, blind non-echolocators, and control subjects with no visual impairment. All three groups were asked to judge the weight of three cubes which were identical in weight but differed in size.
“The blind group who did not echolocate experienced no illusion, correctly judging the boxes as weighing the same amount as one another because they had no indication of how big each box was,” said Buckingham. “The sighted group, where each member was able to see how big each box was, overwhelmingly succumbed to the ‘size-weight illusion’ and experienced the smaller box as feeling a lot heavier than the largest one.”
“We were interested to discover that echolocators, who only experienced the size of the box through echolocation, also experienced this illusion,” Buckingham added. “This showed that echolocation was able to influence their sense of how heavy something felt. This resembles how visual assessment influenced how heavy the boxes felt in the sighted group.”
The findings are consistent with earlier work showing that blind echolocators use “visual” regions of their brain when listening to their own echoes. This new work shows that echolocation is not just a functional tool to help visually-impaired individuals navigate their environment, but actually has the potential to be a complete sensory replacement for vision.
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Association for Psychological Science. Note:
… Continue reading here.
Diet And Weight Loss News — Sciencedaily
— Courtesy “Science News Daily” (ScienceNewsDaily.com)
Beginners: Do NOT go to the gym until you watch this video: http://sixpackshortcuts.com/rd37 Hey Sixpack-Shortcutters, What’s up! In this episode, I will be …
Video Rating: 4 / 5
ZOOT Ultra 2.0 CRx Calf Sleeves Pink Glow/Black, 5 – Men’s
ZOOT’s new Ultra 2. 0 CRx Calf Sleeves were designed to not only limit fatigue and reduce recovery time, but also to give you the convenience of wearing your favorite socks while taking care of those precious calf muscles. The Ultra 2. 0 CRx Calf Sleeves use ZOOT’s CompressRX fabric to provide graduated compression. This material uses lightweight yarns that effectively transport moisture away from the skin, spreading it over a larger surface area so that it rapidly dries. The graduated compression in the fabric means that the compression strength is highest around the ankle, gradually reducing compression pressure toward the calf. Think of it as squeezing a tube toothpaste from the bottom-up. The strategic constriction of veins increases pressure and aids the flow of deoxygenated blood back to the heart. Additionally, compression is believed to limit the muscle damage and fatigue caused by vibration from repetitive ground impacts. Starting muscle recovery before your workout has ended isn’t the only reason to wear these sleeves. Zoot uses BIOwrap construction throughout the sleeves, encasing your muscles in support to reduce impact muscle vibrations. This support helps reduce early muscle fatigue, shortening your recovery time. The Zoot Ultra 2. 0 CRx Calf Sleeves are available in the sizes 2, 3, 4, and 5 and in the colors Black/graphite, Pink Glow/black, Safety Yellow/black, and White/graphite. Please refer to the size chart for the correct size.
List Price:
Price: 39.95
MusclePharm Assault, Strawberry Margarita, 1.2 lb
Dietary Supplement NEW! Super Performing Assault Featuring Ion-3 Nitrate Technology Loaded! With 2g of Patented Beta-Alanine! CarnoSyn br Carnosine Synthesizer Strawberry Margarita Natural Artificial Flavors 2 Hybrid Series 3 Assault The Athletes Pre-Workout System 4 Official Nutritional Supplement Provider of the UFC Ultimate Fighting Championship Energy Strength Endurance* A Complete Pre-Workout System for Athletes* 2 Featuring Ion-3 Patented Nitrate Technology* 3 Explosive Energy without the Crash. Featuring New Ingredient: PurEnergy * 4 Free of Fillers, Fluff or Artificial Dyes* Experience: A Truly Complete Athletic Performance Pre-Workout System. It s More Than Energy. It s Real Performance* Assault s pre-workout formulation is the most advanced and complete pre-workout system on the market. Precision-engineered to help give athletes the u
Price: $ 49.99
Sold by drugstore.com
Puerto Rico Marathon Palm Trees Short Sleeve Workout Shirt – Women’s Size XL Color Steel/Pink
Syntrel(TM) Extreme Moisture Transport Technology Covered Seams Sewn Flat To Reduce Chaffing Silky Hand Feel Jersey Knit Weight : 4.2 oz Fabric : 100% Microfiber Polyester Size XL Color Steel/Pink
List Price: $ 16.00
Price: $ 12.00
[wpramazon asin=”B009K6XZ5M”]
You Can Help Your Child Get More Exercise By Following These 5 Tips
Does your child get enough exercise? You can get your children more active with these 5 fun parenting tips.
Better Health in Four Steps
In just four steps, you can improve your health for the better and this article will show you how. The steps below are bite-sized nuggets of health information you can actually use to live a healthy life. Here we go… Nutritional supplements are the first step As far as I’m concerned, they are very important […]
Top 4 Nutrition Predictions in the New Year
Several food and nutrition trends were in the spotlight this year, including the continued rise of plant-based diets, non-dairy ice creams and superfoods that are blasts from the past — legumes, apples and cabbage. It can be easy to experience nutrition whiplash in the New Year, but don’t be a victim. Get a jump-start on […]
5 Ways to Feel Good While Getting Fit
Setting intentions is a powerful thing. Then when you have that shiny new gym membership in hand, you feel like nothing stands between you and your goals to get in shape once and for all. Trouble is, lack of motivation, unpreparedness and busy schedules have a way of interfering with our plans. If you find […]
