Abstract
Even though auditory stimuli do not directly convey information related to visual stimuli, they often improve visual detection and identification performance. Auditory stimuli often alter visual perception depending on the reliability of the sensory input, with visual and auditory information reciprocally compensating for ambiguity in the other sensory domain. Perceptual processing is characterized by hemispheric asymmetry. While the left hemisphere is more involved in linguistic processing, the right hemisphere dominates spatial processing. In this context, we hypothesized that an auditory facilitation effect in the right visual field for the target identification task, and a similar effect would be observed in the left visual field for the target localization task. In the present study, we conducted target identification and localization tasks using a dual-stream rapid serial visual presentation. When two targets are embedded in a rapid serial visual presentation stream, the target detection or discrimination performance for the second target is generally lower than for the first target; this deficit is well known as attentional blink. Our results indicate that auditory stimuli improved target identification performance for the second target within the stream when visual stimuli were presented in the right, but not the left visual field. In contrast, auditory stimuli improved second target localization performance when visual stimuli were presented in the left visual field. An auditory facilitation effect was observed in perceptual processing, depending on the hemispheric specialization. Our results demonstrate a dissociation between the lateral visual hemifield in which a stimulus is projected and the kind of visual judgment that may benefit from the presentation of an auditory cue.
Highlights
Multisensory integration aids the perception of the outer environment
The simple main effect of that no significant main effects (Tone) was significant in the right visual field (RVF) condition (F (1, 16) = 15.73, p,.005, gp2 = .50), indicating that correct identification rate was higher in the Tone-on-T2 condition than in the Tone-absent condition when T2 was presented in the RVF
The simple main effect of T2 VF was significant in the Tone-on-T1 condition (F (1, 16) = 11.88, p, .005, gp2 = .43), indicating that T2 accuracy was higher in the left visual field (LVF) than in the RVF when the auditory stimulus was presented with T1
Summary
Multisensory integration aids the perception of the outer environment. If a particular sensory percept has low reliability, information from the other modality may, under certain conditions, compensate for such ambiguity. In audio-visual integration, both, visual and auditory information compensate for the perceptual ambiguity associated with the other sensory modality [9,10]. It is purported that auditory information compensates for poor visual temporal resolution [12]. Consistent with this proposal, sounds presented in synchrony with the onset of visual targets presented within rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) stream improve target identification performance. For this type of presentation, two targets are embedded in the RSVP stream. Simultaneous presentation of a sound with the second target improves T2 identification or detection performance (decreasing the T2 deficit associated with the AB) [15]. Sounds which onset synchronize with the onset of visual targets in the RSVP stream aids in capturing the visual item and helps to segregate it from the RSVP stream [17]
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