Auditory Space Perception during Active and Passive Self-Motion

Abstract

We investigated the effects of linear acceleration on auditory space representation. During self-motion, a short noise burst was presented from one of the loudspeakers aligned parallel to the motion direction when the listener's coronal plane reached a particular location (baseline). The effect of active and passive forward movement on perceived auditory space representation was also investigated. Results showed that the sound position aligned with the subjective coronal plane was displaced compared with the baseline only during forward self-motion. However, the direction of displacement during forward motion differed among experiments. Moreover, no difference was observed between active and passive motion. These results suggest a link between auditory space perception and self-motion perception.