Abstract
BackgroundThe duration of sounds can affect the perceived duration of co-occurring visual stimuli. However, it is unclear whether this is limited to amodal processes of duration perception or affects other non-temporal qualities of visual perception.Methodology/Principal FindingsHere, we tested the hypothesis that visual sensitivity - rather than only the perceived duration of visual stimuli - can be affected by the duration of co-occurring sounds. We found that visual detection sensitivity (d’) for unimodal stimuli was higher for stimuli of longer duration. Crucially, in a cross-modal condition, we replicated previous unimodal findings, observing that visual sensitivity was shaped by the duration of co-occurring sounds. When short visual stimuli (∼24 ms) were accompanied by sounds of matching duration, visual sensitivity was decreased relative to the unimodal visual condition. However, when the same visual stimuli were accompanied by longer auditory stimuli (∼60–96 ms), visual sensitivity was increased relative to the performance for ∼24 ms auditory stimuli. Across participants, this sensitivity enhancement was observed within a critical time window of ∼60–96 ms. Moreover, the amplitude of this effect correlated with visual sensitivity enhancement found for longer lasting visual stimuli across participants.Conclusions/SignificanceOur findings show that the duration of co-occurring sounds affects visual perception; it changes visual sensitivity in a similar way as altering the (actual) duration of the visual stimuli does.
Highlights
Time is a fundamental dimension across sensory modalities
Conclusions/Significance: Our findings show that the duration of co-occurring sounds affects visual perception; it changes visual sensitivity in a similar way as altering the duration of the visual stimuli does
Paired t-tests showed that compared to the shortest visual stimulus duration (,24 ms, our baseline measure: BSL), all other visual stimulus durations enhanced visual sensitivity
Summary
Time is a fundamental dimension across sensory modalities. Manipulating the temporal characteristics of a stimulus in one modality can affect time perception in other modalities causing a discrepancy between physical stimulus timing and its perception (cf. [1]for a review). The first finding in this regard was that perceived auditory stimulus durations are expanded relative to perceived visual durations, and that the perceived duration of audiovisual stimuli is more similar to the one for auditory stimuli [7] This kind of auditory dominance is thought to reflect higher reliability of the auditory system for temporal judgments If brief flashes are accompanied by sounds, they can be perceived as temporally shorter or longer than a unimodal flash of same duration, depending on the duration of the co-occurring sound [10] This has been interpreted to reflect a ventriloquist-like capture of visual stimulus on- and offsets by sounds, which would translate to changes in the timing of ‘mode switch closures’ in the above mentioned model of an internal clock [10]. It is unclear whether this is limited to amodal processes of duration perception or affects other non-temporal qualities of visual perception
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