University Calendar

Using Sound to Navigate the World: Echolocation by Bats and Blind Humans

Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Lecture:
Cynthia Moss, Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Johns Hopkins University
Humans tend to rely heavily on vision to navigate, but blind individuals must make use of other senses. Indeed, some blind humans produce tongue clicks and listen to echoes reflecting from objects in their surroundings, similar to echolocating bats and dolphins. In this lecture, I will present details on the sound features that are used for echolocation by animals and blind humans and the acoustic cues they use to localize objects in the environment. I will also discuss the contribution of spatial attention and memory to the execution of behavioral tasks without vision. By comparing echolocating animals and humans, we can identify biological specializations and general principles that operate to support spatial navigation

open to the public.

Location:	Wriston Auditorium
Contact:	Matthew R. Stoneking matthew.r.stoneking@lawrence.edu
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