Updating and orientation in auditory space

For stable sound localization in space, a listener has to account for self-motion. This requires a head-to-world coordinate transformation by combining proprioceptive and vestibular inputs with the binaural cues for sound localization. Proprioceptive and vestibular information influence the evaluation of spatial auditory cues as indicated by the numerous proprioceptive and vestibular neural inputs into the auditory brainstem. First, we evaluate the relative influence of vestibular and proprioceptive cues on updating the world-centered position of auditory targets during active and passive head and/or body rotations in azimuth. Our results show that both vestibular and proprioceptive signals are used to update the spatial representations of auditory targets, but that vestibular inputs contribute more than proprioceptive inputs. Second, we explore the interplay of spatial audition and self-motion in subjects for which auditory space evaluation is of utmost importance, namely, for blind humans relying on ech...