Effects of Visual Working Memory on Individual Differences in Echolocation Performance in Sighted Participants.

Tomoki Maezawa,Jun I Kawahara

doi:10.1177/2041669519872223

Abstract

Echolocation performance differs widely among individuals. This study examined a possible factor that may explain this variation, namely, visual working memory, which is a subcomponent of spatial working memory. Sighted participants performed an object-detection task consisting of initial testing on 2 separate days (up to 8 days apart) with follow-up testing on a third day (up to 1 month after the second day of testing) while manipulating the target distance from 20 to 50 cm. Participants performed two types of visual spatial working memory tasks, one of which required them to memorize color–location combinations and the other, an imaginary pathway. The participants’ performance on the object-detection task generally improved in the first 2 days, but there were substantial individual differences in detection ability. A positive correlation was observed between performance on these tasks and visual working memory capacity, except on the second day, after detection ability had improved. These findings suggest that factors contributing to echolocation skill are related to nonauditory factors in a sighted group.

Highlights

Echolocation is a method to localize objects and acquire object features based on the reflection of sound
Echolocation skill can be acquired with suitable training, most sighted groups are less sensitive to the cues available for echolocation (Kolarik, Cirstea, Pardhan, & Moore, 2014)
We examined the association between echolocation performance in sighted individuals and individual factors, such as visual working memory capacity

Summary

Introduction

Echolocation is a method to localize objects and acquire object features (e.g., distance, size, shape, and surface of material) based on the reflection of sound. The sighted population can echolocate (Teng & Whitney, 2011) using several types of echo-acoustic sounds, such as oral clicks and artificial click noises via loud speakers (Thaler & Castillo-Serrano, 2016; Tonelli, Brayda, & Gori, 2016; Tonelli, Campus, & Brayda, 2018), as well as auditory substitution to enhance spatial awareness for successful navigation (Kolarik, Scarfe, Moore, & Pardhan, 2016). Rapid improvements in echolocation performance occur in sighted populations following only a few training sessions (Teng & Whitney, 2011). These findings indicate the need for repetitive training to acquire echolocation skill. A better understanding of the factors contributing to these individual differences is necessary to aid in the training of echolocation skills

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