Sighted humans show enhanced sensitivity for horizontal but not vertical audio localization

Abstract

Introduction Experiments on humans and animals indicate that auditory localization develops through the association of sets of monaural and binaural cues and locations in space: this calibration process in guided by vision (Knudsen, 1989).The auditory system lacks a straightforward correspondence between external spatial locations and sensory receptive fields (Ahveninen et al ., 2014), so the development of auditory localization is more complex than visual localization. Aim The main aim is to assess if the development of audio spatial localization in sighted humans:Differs for horizontal and vertical dimensionsDepends on: a)Type of sound: static or motion b)Type of task: verbal or motor Results and DiscussionWe tested audio spatial localization for horizontal and vertical dimensions in sighted humans taking into consideration both the type of sound (static or motion) and the type of response requested by the task (verbal or motor). In audio spatial localization, sighted humans show enhanced sensitivity for the horizontal dimension, irrespective of the type of sound and the type of task. The static sound condition tend to be easier than the sound motion condition and motor responses more accurate than verbal responses. Developmental improvement between 10-15 years of age. Future direction: since vision has a predominant role in the maturation of space cognition in the brain, we aim to assess the development of audio spatial localization for horizontal and vertical dimensions in blind humans.