Abstract
The visual motion aftereffect is a visual illusion in which exposure to continuous motion in one direction leads to a subsequent illusion of visual motion in the opposite direction. Previous findings have been mixed with regard to whether this visual illusion can be induced cross-modally by auditory stimuli. Based on research on multisensory perception demonstrating the profound influence auditory perception can have on the interpretation and perceived motion of visual stimuli, we hypothesized that exposure to auditory stimuli with strong directional motion cues should induce a visual motion aftereffect. Here, we demonstrate that horizontally moving auditory stimuli induced a significant visual motion aftereffect—an effect that was driven primarily by a change in visual motion perception following exposure to leftward moving auditory stimuli. This finding is consistent with the notion that visual and auditory motion perception rely on at least partially overlapping neural substrates.
Highlights
The visual motion aftereffect (MAE) is a well-known visual illusion in which exposure to a continuously moving visual stimulus results in the subsequent illusory perception that a static image moves in the opposite direction
We demonstrated that a moving auditory stimulus can lead to a visual motion aftereffect
We found that listening to an auditory stimulus moving in a specific direction prior to the presentation of a visual stimulus increased the probability that one perceived the visual stimulus as moving in the opposite direction relative to the preceding auditory stimulus
Summary
The visual motion aftereffect (MAE) is a well-known visual illusion in which exposure to a continuously moving visual stimulus results in the subsequent illusory perception that a static image moves in the opposite direction. Cross-modal interactions and influences on visual perception are relatively common (Shams et al, 2000; Shimojo and Shams, 2001; Hidaka et al, 2011b), and research investigating motion perception in a multisensory context has indicated that MAEs can be induced crossmodally. Konkle et al (2009) observed that tactile stimulation delivered to the hand could induce a visual MAE, suggesting that the processing of visual and tactile motion rely on shared neural representations that dynamically impact modality-specific perception (Konkle et al, 2009). Findings from research investigating whether cross-modal MAEs could be obtained from auditory stimuli have been unclear
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