Decoding the direction of auditory motion in blind humans

Here we used fMRI and multivariate pattern classification to demonstrate that the direction in which a sound is moving can be reliably decoded from dorsal occipito-temporal activation in the blind. We also show that classification performance is at chance (i) in a control region in posterior parietal cortex and (ii) when motion information is removed and subjects only hear a sequence of static sounds presented at the same start and end positions. These findings reveal that information about the direction of auditory motion is present in dorsal occipito-temporal responses of blind humans. As such, this area, which appears consistent with the hMT+ complex in the sighted, provides crucial information for the generation of a veridical percept of moving non-visual stimuli.