VISUAL GUIDANCE AND IMAGERY IN TACTUAL PERCEPTION AND BRAILLE

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The research program will assess the influence of visual experience on tactile perception in sighted, late blind, and congenitally blind people. Visual imagery and visual spatial frames of reference are thought to be important for tactual perception in sighted and blind people. The study of tactile perception in the late blind, a highly skilled population, also may reveal the potential of the sense of touch. It has often been assumed that the lack of visual experience may explain lower performance of the congenitally blind in some spatial tasks. The sighted, early, and late blind will be compared in a number of tasks, including tactile pictures, tangible maps, tactile illusions, and braille recognition. The study of tactile maps represents a major, new initiative. A new line of research will investigate haptic perception in subjects with neurological impairment, especially parietal lesions. Research on tactile perception in the sighted and blind will focus on methods for the improvement of tactile performance. Experiments will stress the investigation of optimal touching positions, visual guidance, laterality effects, and attentional factors. A study is proposed on the effect of illumination level on tactile attention. Other experiments will examine the influence of memory and retention on tactile spatial cognition, since the visual modality may offer advantages in recall. The research is of importance for the rehabilitation of people with low vision and those with light perception. The study of tactile maps is important for the improvement of mobility in the blind.