Early but not late-blindness leads to enhanced auditory perception

• Published in: Neuropsychologia Vol. 48; no. 1; pp. 344 - 348
• Main Authors: Wan, Catherine Y., Wood, Amanda G., Reutens, David C., Wilson, Sarah J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Acoustic Stimulation - methods; Adult; Age of Onset; Auditory perception; Auditory Perception - physiology; Auditory Threshold - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Blind; Blindness - physiopathology; Brain plasticity; Case-Control Studies; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Handicap; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Memory, Short-Term - physiology; Middle Aged; Neuronal Plasticity - physiology; Neuropsychological Tests; Onset age; Ophthalmology; Pitch Discrimination - physiology; Psychology and medicine; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Vision disorders; Young Adult; Blind; Brain plasticity; Onset age; Auditory perception; Human; Vision disorder; Central nervous system; Encephalon; Eye disease; Hearing; Age of onset; Blindness; Perception
• ISSN: 0028-3932; 1873-3514
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2009.08.016

The notion that blindness leads to superior non-visual abilities has been postulated for centuries. Compared to sighted individuals, blind individuals show different patterns of brain activation when performing auditory tasks. To date, no study has controlled for musical experience, which is known to influence auditory skills. The present study tested 33 blind (11 congenital, 11 early-blind, 11 late-blind) participants and 33 matched sighted controls. We showed that the performance of blind participants was better than that of sighted participants on a range of auditory perception tasks, even when musical experience was controlled for. This advantage was observed only for individuals who became blind early in life, and was even more pronounced for individuals who were blind from birth. Years of blindness did not predict task performance. Here, we provide compelling evidence that superior auditory abilities in blind individuals are not explained by musical experience alone. These results have implications for the development of sensory substitution devices, particularly for late-blind individuals.