Different effects of auditory detection and discretion by visual spatial information

Abstract

The integration of spatially consistent audiovisual stimuli have been focused by many studies. In previous studies both visual and auditory stimuli were attended. The effects of unnoticed visual pictures on auditory information processing were not well understood. Here, this experiment studied the effect of visual spatial information on auditory detection and discretion in a auditory attention task. Two speakers were used to present the auditory stimuli. The speakers were placed on both sides of the screen. The visual stimuli were presented on the left, right locations. Visual stimuli and auditory stimuli were presented in a consistent or inconsistent position. This study provided evidence that auditory detection and discretion can be affected by the visual stimuli present from left or right even if visual stimuli were not attended. Furthermore, detection and discretion tasks had different effects. In the detection task, all visual stimuli contribute to auditory discovery, and only spatial consistent visual stimuli facilitate judgment in the discretion task. Visual stimuli that were not attended affect auditory information processing, which is associated with experimental tasks.