1. cortex
  2. Goalball

Goalball

By cortex on September 12, 2008.

I would love to watch this sport in person:

Goalball participants compete in teams of three, and try to throw a ball that has bells embedded in it, into the opponents' goal. They must use the sound of the bell to judge the position and movement of the ball. Games consist of two 10 minute halves. Blindfolds allow partially sighted players to compete on an equal footing with blind players.

Think, for a moment, about what an impressive cognitive feat that is. The rest of us depend almost entirely on our vision to localize objects in space. But these athletes have learned how to detect fast motion with their ears. What a great cohort for some future fMRI study on plasticity in the auditory cortex. Here is a picture, courtesy of The Big Picture Blog:

i-7d39b91469fdc2c5ff88bce8b0cdfcd5-para9.jpg

via kottke

Tags
Uncategorized

More like this

Neural basis of spatial navigation in the congenitally blind
FOR most of us, the ability to navigate our environment is largely dependent on the sense of vision. We use visual information to note the location of landmarks, and to identify and negotiate obstacles. These visual cues also enable us to keep track of our movements, by monitoring how our position…
Free Throws
A general assumption in the sports world is that athletes get better over time. Sprinters get faster, hitters hit more home runs, quarterbacks throw fewer interceptions, etc. And yet, there's one sports statistic that has refused to budge: the percentage of free-throws made in the NBA. Here's the…
Human echolocation activates visual parts of the brain
WE all know that bats and dolphins use echolocation to navigate, by producing high frequency bursts of clicks and interpreting the sound waves that bounce off objects in their surroundings. Less well known is that humans can also learn to echolocate. With enough training, people can use this…
Blind people are better at finding their way
For most of us, visual perception is crucial for spatial navigation. We rely on vision to find our way around, to position ourselves and localize objects within the surroundings, and to plan our trajectory on the basis of the layout of the environment. Blind people would therefore seem to be at a…

there are understandings among yogic communities that the so-called third eye sees in 360 degrees, that blind people can see in that way .. just rambling, cool post, thanks

This looks like a really cool game.

Could this contribute to the development of the auditory imagination where music is generated by the mind and the individual "hears" the music. Anyone with anecdotal or other information on this phenomenom???

By sericmarr (not verified) on 13 Sep 2008 #permalink

Surely "Bell ball" would be a much better name! What ball game doesn't have some kind of goal? :-)

By John Jackson (not verified) on 18 Sep 2008 #permalink