Representation of space in blind persons: Vision as a spatial sense?

Psychological Bulletin

Volumn 121, Issue 1, 1997, Pages 20-42

  Thinus Blanc, Catherine ^a   Gaunet, Florence ^a  

^a CNRS   (France)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

BLINDNESS; BRAIN; DEPTH PERCEPTION; HUMAN; LOCOMOTION; ORIENTATION; PATHOPHYSIOLOGY; PHYSIOLOGY; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; RECALL; REVIEW; SENSORY DEPRIVATION;

BLINDNESS; BRAIN; HUMANS; LOCOMOTION; MENTAL RECALL; ORIENTATION; SENSORY DEPRIVATION; SPACE PERCEPTION;

EID: 0030637395     PISSN: 00332909     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.121.1.20     Document Type: Article

References (125)

1. Acredolo, L. P. (1985). Coordinating perspectives on infant spatial orientation. In R. Cohen (Ed.), The development of spatial cognition (pp. 115-140). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
2. Acredolo, L. P. (1987). Early development of spatial orientation in humans. In P. Ellen & C. Thinus-Blanc (Eds.), Cognitive processes and spatial orientation in animal and man (Vol. 2, pp. 185-201). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff.
3. Acredolo, L. P., Adams, A., & Goodwyn, S. W. (1984). The role of self-produced movement and visual tracking in infant spatial orientation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 38, 312-327.
4. Arditi, A., Holtzman, J. D., & Kosslyn, S. M. (1988). Mental imagery and sensory experience in congenital blindness. Neuropsychologia, 26(1), 1-12.
5. Arias, C., Curet, C. A., Moyano, H. F., Joekes, S., & Blanch, N. (1993). Echolocation: A study of auditory functioning in blind and sighted subjects. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 87, 73-77.
6. Ashmead, D. H., Davis, D. L., & Northington, A. (1995). Contribution of listeners' approaching motion to auditory distance perception. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 21, 239-256.
7. Ashmead, D. H., Hill, E. W., & Talor, C. R. (1989). Obstacle perception by congenitally blind children. Perception and Psychophysics, 46(5), 425-433.
8. Barber, P. O., & Lederman, S. J. (1988). Encoding direction in manipulatory space and the role of visual experience. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 82, 99-106.
9. Benevento, L. A., Bakkum, B. W., Port, J. D., & Cohen, R. S. (1992). The effects of dark-rearing on the electrophysiology of the rat visual cortex. Brain Research, 572, 198-207.
10. Bigelow, A. (1991). Spatial mapping of familiar locations in blind children. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 85, 113-117.
11. Brambring, M. (1982). Language and geographic orientation for the blind. In R. J. Jarvella & W. Klein (Eds.), Speech, place, and action (pp. 203-218). Chichester, England: Wiley.
12. Bross, M., & Borenstein, M. (1982). Temporal acuity in blind and sighted subjects: A signal detection analysis. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 55, 963-966.
13. Bullinger, A. (1987). Space, organism and objects, a Piagetian approach. In P. Ellen & C. Thinus-Blanc (Eds.), Cognitive processes and spatial orientation in animal and man (Vol. 2, pp. 220-232). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff.
14. Byrne, R. W., & Salter, E. (1983). Distances and directions in the cognitive maps of the blind. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 37, 293-299.
15. Carlson, S., & Hyvärinen, L. (1983). Visual rehabilitation after long lasting early blindness. Acta Ophtalmologica, 61, 701-713.
16. Carlson, S., Hyvärinen, L., & Raninen, A. (1986). Persistent behavioral blindness after early visual deprivation and active visual rehabilitation: A case report. British Journal of Ophtalmology, 70, 607-611.
17. Carreiras, M., & Codina, B. (1992). Spatial cognition of the blind and sighted: Visual and amodal hypotheses. Cahiers de Psychologie Cognitive, 12, 51-78.
18. Casey, S. M. (1978). Cognitive mapping by the blind. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 72, 297-301.
19. Catalan-Ahumada, M., De Voider, A. G., Melin, J., Crucq, B., & Veraart, C. (1993). Increased glucose utilization in the visual cortex of blind subjects using an ultrasonic echolocation device. Archives Internes de Physiologie et de Biochimie, 101, 29.
20. Changeux, J.-P., & Dehaene, S. (1989). Neuronal models of cognitive functions. Cognition, 33, 63-109.
21. Cornoldi, C., Bertuccelli, B., Rocchi, P., & Sbrana, B. (1993). Processing capacity limitations in pictorial and spatial representations in the totally congenitally blind. Cortex, 29, 675-689.
22. Cornoldi, C., Cortesi, A., & Preti, D. (1991). Individual differences in the capacity limitation of visuo-spatial short-term memory: Research on sighted and totally congenitally blind people. Memory and Cognition, 19, 459-468.
23. Descartes, R. (1973). Le discours de la méthode [The discourse of the method] (rev. ed.). Paris, France: Livre de Poche. (Original written 1637)
24. Dodds, A. G., & Carter, D. C. (1983). Memory for movement in blind children: The role of previous visual experience. Journal of Motor Behavior, 15, 343-352.
25. Dodds, A. G., Hellawell, D. J., & Lee, M. D. (1991). Congenitally blind children with and without retrolental fibroplasia: Do they perform differently? Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 85, 225-227.
26. Dodds, A. G., Howarth, C. L., & Carter, D. C. (1982). The mental maps of the blind: The role of previous visual experience. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 76, 5-12.
27. Egan, D. (1979). The early development of visually handicapped children. Clinics in Development Medicine, 73, 139-144.
28. Ernest, C. H. (1987). Imagery and memory in the blind: A review. In M. A. McDaniel & M. Presley (Eds.), Imagery and related mnemonic processes: Theories, individual differences and applications (pp. 218-337). New York: Springer-Verlag.
29. Farah, M. (1988). Is visual imagery really visual? Overlooked evidence from neuropsychology. Psychological Review, 95, 307-317.
30. Fisher, G. H. (1964). Spatial localization by the blind. American Journal of Psychology, 77, 2-14.
31. Fletcher, J. F. (1981a). Spatial representation in blind children. 3. Effects of individual differences. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 75, 46-49.
32. Fletcher, J. F. (1981b). Spatial representation in blind children. 2. Effects of task variation. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 75, 1-3.
33. Foulke, E. (1982). Perception, cognition and the mobility of blind pedestrians. In M. Potegal (Ed.), Spatial abilities: Development and physiological foundations (pp. 55-76). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
34. Gaunet, F., & Thinus-Blanc, C. (1996). Early blind subjects' spatial abilities in manipulatory space: Exploratory stategies and reaction-to-change performance. Manuscript submitted for publication.
35. Gaunet, F., & Thinus-Blanc, C. (in press). Early blind subjects' spatial abilities in locomotor space: Exploratory stategies and reaction-to-change performance. Perception.
36. Gibson, J. J. (1979). The ecological approach to visual perception. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.
37. Greenough, W. T., & Chang, F. L. F. (1988). Plasticity of synapse structure and pattern in the cerebral cortex. In A. Peters & E. G. Jones (Eds.), Cerebral cortex (Vol. 7, pp. 391-440). New York: Plenum Press.
38. Haber, L., Haber, R. N., Penningroth, S., Novak, K., & Radgowski, H. (1993). Comparison of nine methods of indicating the direction to objects: Data from blind adults. Perception, 22, 35-47.
39. Hatwell, Y. (1985). Piagetian reasoning and the blind. New York: American Foundation for the Blind.
40. Hausfeld, S., Power, R. P., Gorta, A., & Harris, P. (1982). Echo perception of shape and texture by sighted subjects. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 55, 623-632.
41. Hazen, N. L. (1982). Spatial exploration and spatial knowledge: Individual and developmental differences in very young children. Child Development, 53, 826-833.
42. Hebb, D. O. (1949). The organization of behaviour. New York: Wiley.
43. Heller, M. A. (1989). Tactile memory in sighted and blind observers: The influence of orientation and rate of presentation. Perception, 18, 121-133.
44. Heller, M. A. (1991). Haptic perception in blind people. In M. A. Heller & W. Shiff (Eds.), The psychology of touch (pp. 239-261). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
45. Heller, M. A., & Kennedy, J. M. (1990). Perspective taking, pictures and the blind. Perception and Psychophysics, 45(5), 459-466.
46. Herman, J. E., Chatman, S. P., & Roth, S. F. (1983). Cognitive mapping in blind people: Acquisition of spatial relationship in a large scale environment. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 77, 161-166.
47. Herman, J. E., Herman, T. G., & Chatman, S. P. (1983). Constructing cognitive maps from partial information: A demonstration study with congenitally blind subjects. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 77, 195-198.
48. Hermelin, B., & O'Connor, N. (1975). Location and distance estimates by blind and sighted children. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 27, 295-301.
49. Hill, E., & Ponder, P. (1976). Orientation and mobility techniques: A guide for the practitioner. New York: American Foundation for the Blind.
50. Hill, E. W., Rieser, J. J., Hill, M. M., Hill, M., Halpin, J., & Halpin, R. (1993). How do persons with visual impairment explore novel spaces? A study of strategies used by exceptionally good and exceptionally poor performers. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 87, 295-301.
51. Hollins, M. (1989). Understanding blindness: An integrative approach. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
52. Hollins, M., & Kelley, E. K. (1988). Spatial updating in blind and sighted people. Perception and Psychophysics, 43, 380-388.
53. Honig, W. K. (1987). Local cues and distal arrays in the control of spatial behavior. In P. Ellen & C. Thinus-Blanc (Eds.), Cognitive processes and spatial orientation in animal and man (Vol. 1, pp. 73-88). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff.
54. Imbert, M., & Buisseret, P. (1975). Perceptive field characteristics and plastic properties of visual cortical cells in kittens reared with or without visual experience. Experimental Brain Research, 22, 25-36.
55. Innocenti, G. M., Fiore, L., & Caminiti, R. (1977). Exuberent projections into the corpus callosum from the visual cortex of newborn cats. Neuroscience Letters, 4, 237-242.
56. Ittyerah, M. (1993). Hand preferences and hand ability in congenitally blind children. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 46A, 35-50.
57. Janson, U. (1993). Normal and deviant behavior in blind children with ROP. Acta Ophtalmologica (Suppl. 210), 20-26.
58. Jeannerod, M. (1975). Deficit visuel persistant chez les aveugles-nés opérés: Données cliniques et expérimentales [Persistent visual impairment in congenitally blind persons after surgery: Clinical and experimental data]. Année Psychologique, 75, 169-196.
59. Jones, B. (1975). Spatial perception in the blind. British Journal of Psychology, 66, 461-472.
60. Juraska, J. M. (1990). The structure of the rat cerebral cortex: Effects of gender and environment. In B. Kolb & R. C. Tees (Eds.), The cerebral cortex of the rat (pp. 483-505). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
61. Kellogg, W. N. (1962, August 10). Sonar system of the blind. Science, 137, 399-404.
62. Kerr, N. (1983). The role of vision in "visual imagery" experiments: Evidence from the congenitally blind. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 112, 265-277.
63. Klatzky, R. L., Golledge, R. G., Loomis, J. M., Cicinelli, J. G., & Pellegrino, J. W. (1995). Performance of blind and sighted persons on spatial tasks. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 89, 70-82.
64. Knudsen, E. I., & Knudsen, P. F. (1989a). Vision calibrates sound localization in developing barn owls. Journal of Neuroscience, 9, 3306-3313.
65. Knudsen, E. I., & Knudsen, P. F. (1989b). Visuomotor adaptation to displacing prisms by adult and baby barn owls. Journal of Neuroscience, 9, 3297-3305.
66. Kujula, T., Alho, K., Paavilainen, P., Summala, H., & Näätänen, R. (1992). Neural plasticity in processing of sound location by the early blind: An event-related potential study. EEG and Clinical Neurophysiology, 84, 469-472.
67. Landau, B. (1986). Early map use as an unlearned ability. Cognition, 22, 201-223.
68. Landau, B., Gleitman, H., & Spelke, E. (1981, September 11). Spatial knowledge and geometric representation in a child blind from birth. Science, 213, 1275-1278.
69. Landau, B., Spelke, E. S., & Gleitman, H. (1984). Spatial knowledge in a young blind child. Cognition, 16, 225-260.
70. Lederman, S. J., Klatzky, R. L., & Barber, P. O. (1985). Spatial and movement-based heuristics for encoding pattern information through touch. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 114, 33-49.
71. Leonard, J. A., & Newman, R. C. (1967). Spatial orientation in the blind. Nature, 215, 1413-1414.
72. Loomis, J. M., Klatzky, R. L., Golledge, R. G., Cicinelli, J. G., Pellegrino, J. W., & Fry, P. A. (1993). Nonvisual navigation by blind and sighted: Assesment of path integration ability. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 122, 73-91.
73. Marmor, G. S., & Zaback, L. A. (1976). Mental rotation by the blind: Does mental rotation depend on visual imagery? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 2, 515-521.
74. Mershon, D. H., & Bowers, J. N. (1979). Absolute and relative cues for the auditory perception of egocentric distance. Perception, 8, 311-322.
75. Middelbrooks, J. C., & Green, D. M. (1991). Sound localization by human listeners. Annual Review of Psychology, 42, 135-159.
76. Millar, S. (1979). The utilization of external and movement cues in simple spatial tasks by blind and sighted children. Perception, 8, 11-20.
77. Millar, S. (1981a). Cross modal and intersensory perception and the blind. In H. L. Pick & R. D. Walk (Eds.), Intersensory perception and sensory integration (pp. 281-314). New York: Plenum Press.
78. Millar, S. (1981b). Self-referent and movement cues in coding spatial location by blind and sighted children. Perception, 10, 255-264.
79. Millar, S. (1985). Movement cues and body orientation in recall of locations by blind and sighted children. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 37A, 257-279.
80. Millar, S. (1988). Models of sensory deprivation: The nature/nurture dichotomy and spatial representation in the blind. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 11, 69-87.
81. Millar, S. (1994). Understanding and representing space. Theory and evidence from studies with blind and sighted children. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
82. Neisser, U. (1976). Cognition and reality. San Francisco: Freeman.
83. Noebels, J. L., Roth, W. T., & Kopell, B. S. (1978). Cortical slow potentials and the occipital EEG in congenital blindness. Journal of Neurological Science, 37, 1-58.
84. Ochaïta, E., & Huertas, J. A. (1993). Spatial representation by persons who are blind: A study of the effects of learning and development. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 87, 37-41.
85. O'Keefe, J., & Nadel, L. (1978). The hippocampus as a cognitive map. London: Oxford University Press.
86. Pailhous, J., & Thinus-Blanc, C. (1994). Locomotion et espace des deplacements [Walking and locomotor space]. In M. Richelle, J. Requin, & M. Robert (Eds.), Traité de psychologie expérimentale [Handbook of experimental psychology] (pp. 729-775). Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
87. Passini, R., Proulx, G., & Rainville, C. (1990). The spatio-cognitive abilities of the visually impaired population. Environment and Behavior, 22(1), 91-118.
88. Piaget, J., & Inhelder, D. (1969). The psychology of the child. New York: Basic Books.
89. Pick, H. L. (1974). Visual coding of non-visual spatial information. In R. B. MacLeod & H. Pick (Eds.), Perception: Essays in honor of J. J. Gibson (pp. 153-165). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
90. Pick, H. L., Warren, D. H., & Hay, J. C. (1969). Sensory conflict in judgments of spatial direction. Perception and Psychophysics, 6, 203-205.
91. Portalier, S., & Vital-Durand, F. (1989). Locomotion chez les enfants mal-voyants et aveugles [Locomotion abilities of visually impaired and blind children]. Psychologie Francaise, 34(1), 79-85.
92. Poucet, B., Chapuis, N., Durup, M., & Thinus-Blanc, C. (1986). Exploratory behavior as an index of spatial knowledge in hamsters. Animal Learning and Behavior, 14, 93-100.
93. Rider, E. A., & Rieser, J. J. (1988). Pointing at objects in other rooms: Young children's sensitivity to perspective after walking with and without vision. Child Development, 59, 480-494.
94. Rieser, J. J., Guth, D. A., & Hill, E. W. (1982). Mental processes mediating independent travel: Implication for orientation and mobility. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 76, 213-218.
95. Rieser, J. J., Guth, D. A., & Hill, E. W. (1986). Sensitivity to perspective structure while walking without vision. Perception, 15, 173-188.
96. Rieser, J. J., & Heiman, M. L. (1982). Spatial self-reference systems and shortest-route behavior in toddlers. Child Development, 53, 524-533.
97. Rieser, J. J., Hill, E. W., Talor, C. R., Bradfield, A., & Rosen, S. (1992). Visual experience, visual field size, and the development of nonvisual sensitivity to the spatial structure of outdoor neighborhoods explored by walking. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 121, 210-221.
98. Rieser, J. J., Pick, H. L., Ashmead, D. H., & Garing, A. E. (1995). Calibration of human locomotion and models of perceptual-motor organization. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 2, 480-497.
99. Rösler, F., Röder, B., Heil, M., & Hennighausen, E. (1993). Topographic differences of slow event-related brain potentials in blind and sighted adult human subjects during haptic mental rotation. Cognitive Brain Research, 1, 145-159.
100. Rossano, M. J., & Warren, D. H. (1989a). The importance of alignment in blind subjects' use of tactual maps. Perception, 18, 805-816.
101. Rossano, M. J., & Warren, D. H. (1989b). Misaligned maps lead to predictable errors. Perception, 18, 215-229.
102. Rossetti, Y., Gaunet, F., & Thinus-Blanc, C. (1996). Early visual experience affects memory and spatial representation for proprioceptive targets. NeuroReport. 7, 1219-1223.
103. Siegel, A. W. (1981). The externalization of cognitives maps by children and adults: In search of ways to ask better questions. In E. B. Liben, A. H. Paterson, & N. Newcombe (Eds.), Spatial representation and behavior across the life span (pp. 167-194). New York: Academic Press.
104. Siegel, A. W., & White, S. H. (1975). The development of spatial representation in congenitally blind, adventitiously blind, and sighted subjects. New Outlook for the Blind, 4, 188-194.
105. Siegler, R. S., & Crowley, K. (1994). Constraints on learning in nonprivileged domains. Cognitive Psychology, 27, 194-226.
106. Singer, W., & Tretter, F. (1976). Receptive-field properties and neuronal connectivity in striate and parastriate cortex of contour-deprived cats. Journal of Neurophysiology, 39, 613-630.
107. Starlinger, I., & Niemeyer, W. (1981). Do the blind hear better? Investigations on auditory processing in congenital or early acquired blindness. Audiology, 20, 503-509.
108. Tees, R. C. (1986). Experience and visual development: Behavioral evidence. In W. T. Greenough & J. M. Juraska (Eds.), Developmental neuropsychobiology (pp. 317-361). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.
109. Tellevik, J. M. (1992). Influence of spatial exploration patterns of cognitive mapping by blindfolded sighted persons. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 86, 221-224.
110. Thinus-Blanc, C., Bouzouba, L., Chaix, K., Chapuis, N., Durup, M., & Poucet, B. (1987). A study of spatial parameters encoded during exploration in hamsters. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 13, 418-427.
111. Uhl, F., Franzen, P., Podreka, I., Steiner, M., & Deecke, L. (1993). Increased regional cerebral blood flow in inferior occipital cortex and cerebellum of early blind humans. Neuroscience Letters, 150, 162-164.
112. Veraart, C., De Voider, A. G., Wanet-Defalque, M. C., Bol, A., Michel, C., & Goffinet, A. M. (1990). Glucose utilization in human visual cortex is abnormally elevated in blindness of early onset but decreased in blindness of late onset. Brain Research, 510, 115-121.
113. Veraart, C., & Wanet-Defalque, M. C. (1987). Representation of locomotor space by the blind. Perception and Psychophysics, 42(2), 132-139.
114. von der Malsburg, C., & Singer, W. (1988). Principles of cortical network organization. In P. Rakic & W. Singer (Eds.), Neurobiology of cortex (pp. 69-99). New York: Wiley.
115. von Senden, M. (1960). Space and sight. The perception of space and shape in the congenitally blind before and after operations. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
116. Wanet, M. C., & Veraart, C. (1985). Processing of auditory information by the blind in spatial localization tasks. Perception and Psychophysics, 38, 91-96.
117. Wanet-Defalque, M.-C., Veraart, C., De Voider, A., Metz, R., Michel, C., Dooms, G., & Goffinet, A. (1988). High metabolic activity in the visual cortex of early blind subjects. Brain Research, 446, 369-373.
118. Warren, D. H. (1970). Intermodality interactions in spatial localization. Cognitive Psychology, 1, 114-133.
119. Warren, D. H. (1974). Early versus late vision: The role of early vision in spatial reference systems. New Outlook for the Blind, 3, 157-162.
120. Warren, D. H. (1984). Blindness and early childhood development. New York: American Foundation for the Blind.
121. Warren, D. H., Anooshian, L. J., & Bollinger, J. G. (1973). Early versus late vision: The role of early vision in spatial behavior. American Foundation for the Blind Research Bulletin, 26, 151-170.
122. Warren, D. H., & Pick, H. L. (1970). Intermodality relations in localization in blind and sighted people. Perception and Psychophysics, 8, 430-432.
123. Wiesel, T. N., & Hubel, D. H. (1965). Extent of recovery from the effects of visual deprivation in kittens. Journal of Neurophysiology, 28, 1060-1072.
124. Withington-Wray, D. J., Binns, K. E., & Keating, M. J. (1990). A four-day period of bimodality auditory and visual experience is sufficient to permit normal emergence of auditory space in the guinea pig Superior colliculus. Neuroscience Letters, 116, 280-286.
125. Worchel, P. (1951). Space perception and orientation in the blind. Psychological Monographs, 65, 1-28.