Studies of multisensory integration in sound localization and updating of auditory spatial attention during head motion

Abstract

In daily life, our heads are in continual motion, but much of our knowledge of spatial hearing is based on experimental paradigms in which this behavior is discouraged or prevented. Head motion can benefit spatial hearing though the creation of dynamic acoustical cues, but also creates challenges such as the need to update head-centered spatial representations or the locus of spatial auditory attention. To utilize acoustic information generated by, or to compensate for, head movements, the auditory system must integrate self-motion information provided by other sensory systems. This presentation will review and contextualize a series of studies from the author's laboratory focused on the psychophysics of dynamic sound localization and the weighting of sensory information from vestibular, proprioceptive, and visual modalities in dynamic localization and maintenance of spatially selective auditory attention during head rotation. Notable findings include a velocity-independent ∼100-ms minimum stimulus duration for disambiguation of front/rear location in dynamic localization and the apparent dominance of vestibular information in the interpretation of dynamic localization cues and in attentional updating. The approach taken provides a step towards understanding the effects of naturalistic behavior on spatial hearing while maintaining significant experimental control and repeatability of stimuli and head movements.