People can develop their sense of echolocation, bats" basic instinct

Science Adina Camarasu
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Echolocation can be learned and used by people on a daily basis, with a little practice.

But how?

How can we become able to move, even if we do not see what’s in front of us?

The phenomenon has already been observed among people who are unable to see, who can appreciate the distances from the walls of a room using their sense of hearing.

Guided by the noise

But, surprisingly, researchers have found that individuals with sight can also do this.

The study was conducted at a university in Munich.

Researchers have discovered a technique that can track the brain activity in such a situation, using the imaginary magnetic sound.

All the participants in the study have received headsets and were placed into MRI scanners.

They listened to some audio signals to discover their position in space.

Then, they made noises by using their tongues and received the corresponding echo in their ears.

Thus, all the participants were able to learn how to perceive the differences in the size of an open space.

According to researchers, the subjects were able to properly guess the dimensions of an area if they kept producing noises.

One of the participants even managed to calculate the size of a room with a deviation of only 4% compared to its real dimensions.

Such tasks activate the sensorial cortex because the sound waves produced by the noise are captured by the ears.

Also, patients with visual problems had an activation of the motor cortex, which stimulates the tongue and the cords to produce new sounds.

Now, researchers are working on a method of training that will help the blind patients to use echolocation, through the sounds produced with the tongue.