Secondary Auditory Task Research Articles

Effects of noise sensitivity and listening effort on perceptual ratings of background noise.

Previous research suggests that noise sensitivity is related to inefficient auditory processing that might increase the mental load of noise and affect noise evaluation. This assumption was tested in an experiment using a dual-task paradigm with a visual primary task and an auditory secondary task. Results showed that participants' noise sensitivity was positively correlated with mental effort. Furthermore, mental effort mediated the effect of noise sensitivity on loudness and unpleasantness ratings. The results thus support the idea that noise sensitivity is related to increased mental effort and difficulties in filtering auditory information and that situational factors should be considered.

The effects of informational and energetic/modulation masking on the efficiency and ease of speech communication across the lifespan

Children and older adults have greater difficulty understanding speech when there are other voices in the background (informational masking, IM) than when the interference is a steady-state noise with a similar spectral profile but is not speech (due to modulation and energetic masking; EM/MM). We evaluated whether this IM vs. EM/MM difference for certain age ranges was found for broader measures of communication efficiency and ease in 114 participants aged between 8 and 80. Participants carried out interactive diapix problem-solving tasks in age-band- and sex-matched pairs, in quiet and with different maskers in the background affecting both participants. Three measures were taken: (a) task transaction time (communication efficiency), (b) performance on a secondary auditory task simultaneously carried out during diapix, and (c) post-test subjective ratings of effort, concentration, difficulty and noisiness (communication ease). Although participants did not take longer to complete the task when in challenging conditions, effects of IM vs. EM/MM were clearly seen on the other measures. Relative to the EM/MM and quiet conditions, participants in IM conditions were less able to attend to the secondary task and reported greater effects of the masker type on their perceived degree of effort, concentration, difficulty and noisiness. However, we found no evidence of decreased communication efficiency and ease in IM relative to EM/MM for children and older adults in any of our measures. The clearest effects of age were observed in transaction time and secondary task measures. Overall, communication efficiency gradually improved between the ages 8–18 years and performance on the secondary task improved over younger ages (until 30 years) and gradually decreased after 50 years of age. Finally, we also found an impact of communicative role on performance. In adults, the participant asked to take the lead in the task and who spoke the most, performed worse on the secondary task than the person who was mainly in a ‘listening’ role and responding to queries. These results suggest that when a broader evaluation of speech communication is carried out that more closely resembles typical communicative situations, the more acute effects of IM typically seen in populations at the extremes of the lifespan are minimised potentially due to the presence of multiple information sources, which allow the use of varying communication strategies. Such a finding is relevant for clinical evaluations of speech communication.

Toward Workload-Based Adaptive Automation: The Utility of fNIRS for Measuring Load in Multiple Resources in the Brain

We investigate the utility of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) for workload-based adaptive automation through the lens of multiple resource theory. We focus on the criteria of unobtrusiveness, responsiveness, load sensitivity (low vs high load), and load diagnosticity (differentiating types of load). We report a large meta-review, in which we conclude that only a few studies were suitable for evaluating sensitivity and diagnosticity in complex real-world tasks. While these reveal that the fNIRS signal is adequately sensitive to gradations of load level changes (sensitivity), the diagnosticity of fNIRS to different sources of cognitive load remained uncertain. We manipulated mental load of a complex shape sorting task via working memory load (WM) and visual perceptual load (VL), while a secondary auditory task was present throughout. We measured the effect of these manipulations at the group-level using conventional secondary and eyetracking workload measures, as well as hemodynamic response in specific functional regions in the brain, including regions involved in multi-tasking (MT), VL, WM, and auditory load (AL). Our findings revealed that fNIRS is both sensitive and diagnostic to load in complex tasks, with greater sensitivity revealed by deoxyhemoglobin than oxyhemoglobin and the brain regions associated with diagnosticity align with neuroscience literature on perceptual load, WM, and goal-directed multitasking.

2단계 자율주행 중 시각 및 청각 이차 과제 수행이 제어권 전환 능력에 미치는 영향

2단계 자율주행 중 시각 및 청각 이차 과제 수행이 제어권 전환 능력에 미치는 영향

The Effects of Auditory Working Memory Task on Situation Awareness in Complex Dynamic Environments: An Eye-movement Study.

This study investigated the effect of auditory working memory task on situation awareness (SA) and eye-movement patterns in complex dynamic environments. Many human errors in aviation are caused by a lack of SA, and distraction from auditory secondary tasks is a serious threat to SA. However, it remains unclear how auditory working memory tasks affect SA and eye-movement patterns. Participants (n = 28) were randomly allocated to two groups and received different periods of visual search training (short versus long). They subsequently completed a situation awareness measurement task in three auditory secondary task conditions (without secondary task, auditory calculation task, and auditory 2-back task). Eye-movement data were collected during the situation awareness measurement task. The auditory 2-back task significantly reduced overall SA, Level 1 SA, dwell times, and total percentage of fixation time on task-related areas of interests in the SA measurement task. Overall SA and Level 3 SA were not reduced by the auditory 2-back task in individuals in the longer visual search training time condition. Auditory working memory load impairs SA in the perception and projection stage; however, greater experience can overcome impairment of SA in the projection stage. This study provided possible approaches to preventing loss of SA: (1) improving crew members' communication skills to ensure the accurate and clear transmission of information, reducing the difficulty of processing information, and (2) providing targeted cognitive training tailored to each pilot's level of experience.

Simultaneous fMRI and tDCS for Enhancing Training of Flight Tasks.

There is a gap in our understanding of how best to apply transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) to enhance learning in complex, realistic, and multifocus tasks such as aviation. Our goal is to assess the effects of tDCS and feedback training on task performance, brain activity, and connectivity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Experienced glider pilots were recruited to perform a one-day, three-run flight-simulator task involving varying difficulty conditions and a secondary auditory task, mimicking real flight requirements. The stimulation group (versus sham) received 1.5 mA high-definition HD-tDCS to the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) for 30 min during the training. Whole-brain fMRI was collected before, during, and after stimulation. Active stimulation improved piloting performance both during and post-training, particularly in novice pilots. The fMRI revealed a number of tDCS-induced effects on brain activation, including an increase in the left cerebellum and bilateral basal ganglia for the most difficult conditions, an increase in DLPFC activation and connectivity to the cerebellum during stimulation, and an inhibition in the secondary task-related auditory cortex and Broca's area. Here, we show that stimulation increases activity and connectivity in flight-related brain areas, particularly in novices, and increases the brain's ability to focus on flying and ignore distractors. These findings can guide applied neurostimulation in real pilot training to enhance skill acquisition and can be applied widely in other complex perceptual-motor real-world tasks.

Path Configuration Complexity Affects Spatial Memory Span on the eCorsi Task but Does Not Influence Performance of a Concurrent Auditory Discrimination Task.

Visuospatial working memory is often assessed using the Corsi block-tapping task where set size is used to estimate capacity. It is well established that characteristics of the Corsi task path configuration such as length, crossings, and angles influence recall accuracy suggesting that more complex path configurations increase the load on working memory. However, the interaction between set size and path configuration is not well understood. Here we used a secondary auditory task to probe if set size and path configuration impose a similar type of load on the system. Nineteen participants (age = 25.3 ± 3.9 years) performed a computerized version of the Corsi test either alone (single) or simultaneously with an auditory tone discrimination task (dual). The eCorsi task involved a set of simple (no crosses, shorter lengths, larger angles) or complex (>2 crosses, longer lengths, smaller angles) paths at set sizes of five to eight blocks. Results showed significantly lower recall accuracy for the complex compared to the simple paths (63.32% vs. 86.38%, p < 0.001) at all set sizes, regardless of task condition (single, dual). Auditory performance (accuracy and response time) was significantly lower in the dual compared to single task (85.34% vs. 99.67%, p < 0.001), but performance was not affected by the complexity of the eCorsi path configuration. These findings suggest that set size and path complexity impose a different type of load on the working memory system and may rely on different resources.

Attentional modulations of audiovisual interactions in apparent motion: Temporal ventriloquism effects on perceived visual speed.

The timing of brief stationary sounds has been shown to alter different aspects of visual motion, such as speed estimation. These effects of auditory timing have been explained by temporal ventriloquism and auditory dominance over visual information in the temporal domain. Although previous studies provide unprecedented evidence for the multisensory nature of speed estimation, how attention is involved in these audiovisual interactions remains unclear. Here, we aimed to understand the effects of spatial attention on these audiovisual interactions in time. We utilized a set of audiovisual stimuli that elicit temporal ventriloquism in visual apparent motion and asked participants to perform a speed comparison task. We manipulated attention either in the visual or auditory domain and systematically changed the number of moving objects in the visual field. When attention was diverted to a stationary object in the visual field via a secondary task, the temporal ventriloquism effects on perceived speed decreased. On the other hand, focusing attention on the auditory stimuli facilitated these effects consistently across different difficulty levels of secondary auditory task. Moreover, the effects of auditory timing on perceived speed did not change with the number of moving objects and existed in all the experimental conditions. Taken together, our findings revealed differential effects of allocating attentional resources in the visual and auditory domains. These behavioral results also demonstrate that reliable temporal ventriloquism effects on visual motion can be induced even in the presence of multiple moving objects in the visual field and under different perceptual load conditions.

Input modality pairings influence dual task costs, but not cognitive load

ABSTRACT According to the distinct cognitive resources view, individuals can complete two tasks in different modalities concurrently, as long as either resource is not overloaded. However, little is known about how task modality impacts individuals’ perceptions of the mental resources necessary for the task (i.e., cognitive load). We compared visual memory task performance and perceived cognitive load when participants completed a visual (same modality) secondary task, auditory (different modality) secondary task, and control condition (no secondary task). Delayed recall performance, but not cognitive load, was worse in the same-modality condition than in the different-modality condition. Performance was worst in the condition where participants reported experiencing the highest level of cognitive load, even if that condition did not include a secondary task. Results partially support the distinct cognitive resources view, indicating a modality effect for delayed recall performance, but not for perceived cognitive load. Implications for multitasking performance and decision-making are discussed.

Do Real-Time Strategy Video Gamers Have Better Attentional Control?

Do real-time strategy (RTS) video gamers have better attentional control? To examine this issue, we tested experienced versus inexperienced RTS video gamers on multi-object tracking tasks (MOT) and dual-MOT tasks with visual or auditory secondary tasks (dMOT). We employed a street-crossing task with a visual working memory task as a secondary task in a virtual reality (VR) environment to examine any generalized attentional advantage. Similar to action video games, RTS video games require players to switch attention between multiple visual objects and views. However, whether the attentional control advantage is limited by sensory modalities or generalizes to real-life tasks remains unclear. In study 1, 25 RTS video game players (SVGP) and 25 non-video game players (NVGP) completed the MOT task and two dMOT tasks. In study 2, a different sample with 25 SVGP and 25 NVGP completed a simulated street-crossing task with the visual dual task in a VR environment. After controlling the effects of the speed-accuracy trade-off, SVGP showed better performance than NVGP in the MOT task and the visual dMOT task, but SVGP did not perform better in either the auditory dMOT task or the street-crossing task. RTS video gamers had better attentional control in visual computer tasks, but not in the auditory tasks and the VR tasks. Attentional control benefits associated with RTS video game experience may be limited by sensory modalities, and may not translate to performance benefits in real-life tasks.

The Effects of Distraction Type and Difficulty on Older Drivers’ Performance and Behaviour: Visual vs. Cognitive

Driver distraction is an important contributing factor to increase crash risks. The effect of secondary task engagement may vary by interaction types and driver age. Thus, it is essential to understand the impacts of distraction type and age on driving performance for improving the safety of in-vehicle secondary task design. This paper aims to assess potential risks induced by visual and auditory secondary tasks while driving. Thirty drivers, consisted of fifteen younger drivers aged 25 ∼ 35 and fifteen older aged 60 ∼ 69, were recruited and asked to drive in a simulator. They conducted two driving sessions, one for visually distracted driving and the other for cognitive distraction. The order in which secondary tasks were presented was counter-balanced. Driving performance and behaviour data were collected continuously using multiple measurement devices for vehicle speed, lane position, electrocardiogram, and gaze pattern. Differences in younger and older drivers’ performance while conducting the secondary tasks were compared. The result indicated that the effect of interaction types, i.e., visual and auditory, on older drivers’ performance was significant. More difficult secondary task creates greater age difference in driving performance. However, eye movement and physiological response were not significantly different between younger and older drivers. This result could suggest older drivers’ lower risk awareness of cognitive distraction.

Exploring the Utility of Subjective Workload Measures for Capturing Dual Task Resource Loading

Our goal was to investigate the impact of dual-tasking on perceived workload, and to study the sensitivity of existing workload measures to components of primary and secondary tasks. Past research has investigated the impact of dual-tasking but has rarely compared the NASA-TLX and the Multiple Resources Questionnaire (MRQ). We made comparisons between workload measures completed after execution of a single-task trial (signal detection task) as compared to a dual-task trial (signal detection accompanied by a secondary auditory task). Special attention was given to comparing the results from the NASA-TLX and the MRQ, along with investigating the sensitivity of the MRQ to specific task components. Facets of the MRQ were analyzed to explore their sensitivity to specific task loading. Results indicate that while both measures reliably registered a change in workload, the MRQ was more sensitive to the source of the change and presented a more holistic picture of cognitive demands.

The effect of anxiety on anticipation, allocation of attentional resources, and visual search behaviours

Successful sports performance requires athletes to be able to mediate any detrimental effects of anxiety whilst being able to complete tasks simultaneously. In this study, we examine how skill level influences the ability to mediate the effects of anxiety on anticipation performance and the capacity to allocate attentional resources to concurrent tasks. We use a counterbalanced, repeated measures design that required expert and novice badminton players to complete a film-based anticipation test in which they predicted serve direction under high- and low-anxiety conditions. On selected trials, participants completed an auditory secondary task. Visual search data were recorded and the Mental Readiness Form v-3 was used to measure cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confidence. The Rating Scale of Mental Effort was used to measure mental effort. The expert players outperformed their novice counterparts on the anticipation task across both anxiety conditions, with both groups anticipation performance deteriorating under high- compared to low-anxiety. This decrease across anxiety conditions was significantly greater in the novice compared to the expert group. High-anxiety resulted in a shorter final visual fixation duration for both groups when compared to low-anxiety. Anxiety had a negative impact on secondary task performance for the novice, but not the expert group. Our findings suggest that expert athletes more effectively allocated attentional resources during performance under high-anxiety conditions. In contrast, novice athletes used more attentional resources when completing the primary task and, therefore, were unable to maintain secondary task performance under high-anxiety.

Influence of dual-task constraints on the interaction between posture and movement during a lower limb pointing task.

One of the challenges regarding human motor control is making the movement fluid and at a limited cognitive cost. The coordination between posture and movement is a necessary requirement to perform daily life tasks. The present experiment investigated this interaction in 20 adult men, aged 18-30years. The cognitive costs associated to postural and movement control when kicking towards a target was estimated using a dual-task paradigm (secondary auditory task). Results showed that addition of the attentional demanding cognitive task yielded a decreased kicking accuracy and an increased timing to perform the movement, mainly during the backswing motion. In addition, significant differences between conditions were found for COP and COM displacement (increased amplitude, mean speed) on the anteroposterior axis. However, no significant differences between conditions were found on the mediolateral axis. Finally, EMG analysis showed that dual-task condition modified the way anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) were generated. More specifically, we observed an increase of the peroneus longus activity, whereas the temporal EMG showed a decrease of its latency with respect to movement onset. These results suggested a functional adaptation resulting in an invariance of overall APAs, emphasizing that cognitive, postural, and motor processes worked dependently.

Functional connectivity analysis of distracted drivers based on the wavelet phase coherence of functional near-infrared spectroscopy signals.

The present study aimed to evaluate the functional connectivity (FC) in relevant cortex areas during simulated driving with distraction based on functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) method. Twelve subjects were recruited to perform three types of driving tasks, namely, straight driving, straight driving with secondary auditory task, and straight driving with secondary visual vigilance task, on a driving simulator. The wavelet amplitude (WA) and wavelet phase coherence (WPCO) of the fNIRS signals were calculated in six frequency intervals: I, 0.6–2 Hz; II, 0.145–0.6 Hz; III, 0.052–0.145 Hz; IV, 0.021–0.052 Hz; and V, 0.0095–0.021 Hz, VI, 0.005–0.0095Hz. Results showed that secondary tasks during driving led to worse driving performance, brain activity changes, and dynamic configuration of the connectivity. The significantly lower WA value in the right motor cortex in interval IV, and higher WPCO values in intervals II, V, and VI were found with additional auditory task. Significant standard deviation of speed and lower WA values in the left prefrontal cortex and right prefrontal cortex in interval VI, and lower WPCO values in intervals I, IV, V, and VI were found under the additional visual vigilance task. The results suggest that the changed FC levels in intervals IV, V, and VI were more likely to reflect the driver’s distraction condition. The present study provides new insights into the relationship between distracted driving behavior and brain activity. The method may be used for the evaluation of drivers’ attention level.

Effects of primary task predictability and secondary task modality on lane maintenance

The objective of this work was to investigate the effects of auditory and visuo-spatial secondary tasks on variability in lane position in predictable and unpredictable driving conditions. Sixty-six participants drove a simulated vehicle. Predictability was manipulated by adding wind gusts, and the secondary task load by either an auditory task (Experiment 1) or a visuo-spatial task (Experiment 2). Results demonstrated that in the predictable driving condition, lane position variability decreased when auditory secondary task load was given, but it was not affected by visuo-spatial secondary task load. In the unpredictable driving condition; however, while the auditory secondary task load did not affect lane position variability, visuo-spatial secondary task load increased it. The data suggests that the effects of cognitive load on lane maintenance may depend on the type of the secondary task beside predictability of primary task.

Effects of a front-seat passenger on driver attention: An electrophysiological approach

The human attention system is limited in capacity, and when performing two concurrent tasks there is competition for cognitive resources. This is particularly important in dangerous scenarios, such as driving on sharp curves where deficits in performance can be caused by various sources of distraction, including the presence of a passenger in the vehicle. In the present study, a dual-task paradigm was employed to examine the nature of attentional limits while operating a driving simulator in the presence of a passenger. The primary driving task had two levels of difficulty and event-related potentials (ERP) were collected from a secondary auditory task. In addition to several driving performance measures, our main ERP of interest was the P300. In dual-task studies, increases in primary task difficulty have been shown to reduce the amplitude of the P300 elicited by a secondary task. This presumably occurs because attentional resources initially dedicated to the secondary task are consumed by the primary task. The present results showed that compared to driving solo, the presence of a passenger was associated with a decrease in P300 amplitude in the more difficult driving conditions. These results suggest that in-car passengers may consume valuable resources in difficult driving situations that require more attentional focus in the first place.

Effectiveness of auditory and tactile crossmodal cues in a dual-task visual and auditory scenario

In this study, we examined how spatially informative auditory and tactile cues affected participants’ performance on a visual search task while they simultaneously performed a secondary auditory task. Visual search task performance was assessed via reaction time and accuracy. Tactile and auditory cues provided the approximate location of the visual target within the search display. The inclusion of tactile and auditory cues improved performance in comparison to the no-cue baseline conditions. In comparison to the no-cue conditions, both tactile and auditory cues resulted in faster response times in the visual search only (single task) and visual–auditory (dual-task) conditions. However, the effectiveness of auditory and tactile cueing for visual task accuracy was shown to be dependent on task-type condition. Crossmodal cueing remains a viable strategy for improving task performance without increasing attentional load within a singular sensory modality.Practitioner Summary: Crossmodal cueing with dual-task performance has not been widely explored, yet has practical applications. We examined the effects of auditory and tactile crossmodal cues on visual search performance, with and without a secondary auditory task. Tactile cues aided visual search accuracy when also engaged in a secondary auditory task, whereas auditory cues did not.

The Impact of Auditory Task Complexity on Primary Task Performance in Military Land Vehicle Crew

Military land vehicles are becoming more technologically advanced, offering much greater capabilities for command and control on the move. The capabilities afforded by these modern vehicles are likely to place greater cognitive demands on the vehicle operators, and an increased requirement for vehicle crews to communicate effectively. This study explored the influence of a secondary task load on both individual and crew performance. Eight driver/co-driver crews operated a driving simulator over two days, during which the complexity of an auditory secondary task, which incorporated a crew-based communication component, was manipulated. The impact of this manipulation on both individual and crew performance was assessed. The results suggest that participants prioritized and protected performance on their primary task when the complexity of the secondary task was increased, at the cost of declines in their secondary task performance. Implications for the use of modern land vehicles in defense fleets are discussed, along with our research program aimed at further exploring the impact of varying cognitive load on crew performance.

Effect of spatial or sequential auditory secondary task on spatial navigation

Effect of spatial or sequential auditory secondary task on spatial navigation