Psychoacoustic tests for the study of human echolocation ability

Abstract Four psychoacoustic tests were designed in order to study the human echolocation ability, i.e. the process of auditive perception of obstacles without the use of vision. The tests measure the subjects' performance in repetition pitch detection and discrimination tasks — which are supposed to be involved in the short distance echolocation modality — using an echolocation paradigm as sound stimulus. The results, based on an experience, carried out with 30 sighted subjects with and without musical training and with one blind person, indicate that musical training did not seem to affect the subjects' performance in the tests. The subjects' performance in the matching repetition pitch test seemed to indicate that they do indeed perceive a repetition pitch when they are stimulated with echolocating stimuli. Also, noise signals seemed to give better information than click signals in all the tests. The performance of the one blind subject in the matching repetition pitch test was, as we anticipated, the most relevant result.

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