10-Week Echolocation Training Rewires 26 Adults' Visual Cortex for Sound
Updated
Updated · ScienceAlert · Jul 23
10-Week Echolocation Training Rewires 26 Adults' Visual Cortex for Sound
1 articles · Updated · ScienceAlert · Jul 23
Summary
Brain scans of 26 adults showed 10 weeks of click-based echolocation training triggered functional and structural changes in primary sensory areas, including the visual cortex.
V1—the brain’s primary visual region—became sensitive to sound echoes in both blind and sighted participants, suggesting adult brains can rapidly repurpose core sensory circuits.
The researchers said the finding is the first evidence of such plasticity in primary areas V1 and A1 after echolocation training, rather than mainly in higher-order sensory regions.
The results extend a 2021 PLOS One study showing humans can learn echolocation in 10 weeks and point to broader questions about how brains adapt for sound-based navigation.
How might the brain's rapid rewiring for echolocation inspire the next generation of adaptable AI and robotics?
If our brains can learn to 'see' with sound, what other hidden sensory abilities might humans be able to unlock?
Dolphins evolved echolocation over millions of years; how can human brains show similar adaptations in only 10 weeks?
Echolocation Empowers Brain Adaptation Across Ages and Visual Status: Evidence from the 2024 Durham University Study
Overview
A 2024 study by Norman, Hartley, and Thaler at Durham University, published in Cerebral Cortex, explored how short-term echolocation training affects brain plasticity in both blind and sighted people. Using whole-brain analysis, the researchers observed neuroplastic changes after participants navigated virtual mazes with click recordings. The study found that both groups showed similar changes in their primary visual cortex, challenging the idea that certain brain areas are only for one sense. These results highlight the brain’s remarkable ability to adapt quickly, suggesting echolocation training can benefit a wide range of individuals regardless of their visual status.