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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 13, 2026

Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Published on: April 22, 2015

Space and time in the sighted and blind.

Roberto Bottini¹, Davide Crepaldi², Daniel Casasanto³

¹Centre for Mind/Brain Science, University of Trento, Italy; MoMo Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Italy.

|May 4, 2015

Summary

The horizontal Mental Time Line (MTL) develops without vision, using the same external reference frame in blind and sighted individuals. Braille reading may offer a manual equivalent to visual text for this spatial-temporal mapping.

Keywords:

Blindness Frame of reference Orthography Space Time

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience
Sensory Perception

Background:

The Mental Time Line (MTL) is a horizontal spatial representation of time, often influenced by visual experiences like reading and graphic conventions.
The role of visual experience in MTL development is significant, raising questions about its formation in blind individuals.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether blind individuals develop a Mental Time Line (MTL).
To compare the MTL in early blind, late blind, and sighted participants.
To explore the experiential basis of spatial representations of time.

Main Methods:

A space-time congruity task was administered to early blind, late blind, and sighted participants.
Participants classified temporal words using left/right key presses with either crossed or uncrossed hands.

Main Results:

The Mental Time Line (MTL) develops in the absence of vision.
Both blind and sighted participants utilize the same external frame of reference for their MTL.
Manual experiences, such as braille reading, may establish a spatial-temporal link analogous to visual reading.

Conclusions:

The MTL is not solely dependent on visual experience.
Spatial representations of time and number may have distinct developmental pathways and experiential bases.
Findings contrast with previous research on the Mental Number Line (MNL) in blind individuals.