Overview
- The peer-reviewed eNeuro study, published Monday, tested four blind expert echolocators against 21 sighted novices and found the experts far more accurate at judging whether a target was left or right in total darkness.
- Performance in experts improved with each added mouth click and echo, with one participant localizing reliably after only two clicks.
- During sequences of 2 to 11 clicks, EEG showed the brain could tell echo laterality from the very first click.
- Brain signals evolved in a consistent pattern across successive clicks and closely tracked each person’s localization accuracy.
- The authors caution that the expert sample was small and all male and that stimuli were virtual, and they now aim to probe who becomes expert and how training could boost the skill.