Auditory spatial representations of the world are compressed in blind humans

Compared to sighted listeners, blind listeners often display enhanced auditory spatial abilities such as localization in azimuth. However, less is known about whether blind humans can accurately judge distance in extrapersonal space using auditory cues alone. Using virtualization techniques, we show that auditory spatial representations of the world beyond the peripersonal space of blind listeners are compressed compared to those for normally sighted controls. Blind participants overestimated the distance to nearby sources, and underestimated the distance to remote sound sources, in both reverberant and anechoic environments, and for speech, music and noise signals. Functions relating judged and actual virtual distance were well fitted by compressive power functions, indicating that the absence of visual information regarding the distance of sound sources may prevent accurate calibration of the distance information provided by auditory signals

PACHVONVCHIA

SUMMARY.— One hundred and two cases of pachyonychia with onycholysis were studied both histologically and histochemically on transverse sections of the extremities of the nail. Globular structures were found in the ventral nail formed by the hyperkeratosis of the hyponychium which was considerably thickened. They seem to arise in the intercellular spaces. These structures coalesce and enlarge. They react like neutral and acid mucopolysaccharides. These clumps, previously described by Zaias in psoriasis of the nail, are also found in several cutaneous hyperkeratotic diseases. Their dermal origin has not been confirmed. Copyright © 1970, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reservedSCOPUS: ar.jFLWNASCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe