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Of vulcan ears, human ears and 'earprints'

Nature Neuroscience volume 1, pages 337–339 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

Our outer ears are critical for localizing sound elevation. Van Opstal and colleagues show that humans adapt to new ear shapes. This process resembles learning a second language because after adaptation people can localize equally well with their own or modified ears.

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Figure 1
Figure 2: The difference in time of arrival of a sound wave at the two ears (ITD) plotted as a function of the azimuth (left–right) and elevation (up–down) of the sound source relative to the listener's head.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin – Madison, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, 53705, Wisconsin, USA

    Fred Wightman & Doris Kistler

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  1. Fred Wightman
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  2. Doris Kistler
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Wightman, F., Kistler, D. Of vulcan ears, human ears and 'earprints'. Nat Neurosci 1, 337–339 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/1541

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