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Audiovisual integration in near and far space: effects of changes in distance and stimulus effectiveness.

ABSTRACT: A factor that is often not considered in multisensory research is the distance from which information is presented. Interestingly, various studies have shown that the distance at which information is presented can modulate the strength of multisensory interactions. In addition, our everyday multisensory experience in near and far space is rather asymmetrical in terms of retinal image size and stimulus intensity. This asymmetry is the result of the relation between the stimulus-observer distance and its retinal image size and intensity: an object that is further away is generally smaller on the retina as compared to the same object when it is presented nearer. Similarly, auditory intensity decreases as the distance from the observer increases. We investigated how each of these factors alone, and their combination, affected audiovisual integration. Unimodal and bimodal stimuli were presented in near and far space, with and without controlling for distance-dependent changes in retinal image size and intensity. Audiovisual integration was enhanced for stimuli that were presented in far space as compared to near space, but only when the stimuli were not corrected for visual angle and intensity. The same decrease in intensity and retinal size in near space did not enhance audiovisual integration, indicating that these results cannot be explained by changes in stimulus efficacy or an increase in distance alone, but rather by an interaction between these factors. The results are discussed in the context of multisensory experience and spatial uncertainty, and underline the importance of studying multisensory integration in the depth space.

SUBMITTER: Van der Stoep N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4828496 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:The intricate relationship between multisensory integration and attention has been extensively researched in the multisensory field; however, the necessity of attention for the binding of multisensory stimuli remains contested. In the current study, we investigated whether diverting attention from well-known multisensory tasks would disrupt integration and whether the complexity of the stimulus and task modulated this interaction. A secondary objective of this study was to investigate individual differences in the interaction of attention and multisensory integration. Participants completed a simple audiovisual speeded detection task and McGurk task under various perceptual load conditions: no load (multisensory task while visual distractors present), low load (multisensory task while detecting the presence of a yellow letter in the visual distractors), and high load (multisensory task while detecting the presence of a number in the visual distractors). Consistent with prior studies, we found that increased perceptual load led to decreased reports of the McGurk illusion, thus confirming the necessity of attention for the integration of speech stimuli. Although increased perceptual load led to longer response times for all stimuli in the speeded detection task, participants responded faster on multisensory trials than unisensory trials. However, the increase in multisensory response times violated the race model for no and low perceptual load conditions only. Additionally, a geometric measure of Miller's inequality showed a decrease in multisensory integration for the speeded detection task with increasing perceptual load. Surprisingly, we found diverging changes in multisensory integration with increasing load for participants who did not show integration for the no load condition: no changes in integration for the McGurk task with increasing load but increases in integration for the detection task. The results of this study indicate that attention plays a crucial role in multisensory integration for both highly complex and simple multisensory tasks and that attention may interact differently with multisensory processing in individuals who do not strongly integrate multisensory information.

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Audiovisual integration in near and far space: effects of changes in distance and stimulus effectiveness.

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