Irrelevant auditory stimuli can enhance the temporal resolution of vision
Poster Presentation

Daniel Bergmann
Department of Neurology II, Otto von Guericke University, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany

*Toemme Noesselt
Department of Neurology II, Otto von Guericke University, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany & Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK

*Hans-Jochen Heinze
Department of Neurology II, Otto von Guericke University, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany

*Robert Fendrich
Department of Neurology II, Otto von Guericke University, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany

     Abstract ID Number: 110
     Full text: Not available
     Last modified: March 21, 2005

Abstract
Research on cross-modal processes has revealed that sounds can change the perceived temporal pattern of vision (e.g. Shipley, 1964; Scheier et al., 1999). Here, we investigated whether sounds can improve the temporal resolution of vision. In the present study, sounds were combined with a brief ‘blink’ of a visual stimulus in a 2-factorial design (visual blink present/absent; sound present/absent). Subjects (n=14) had to decide whether a blink occurred. A visual cue at the subject’s fixation point specified the exact moment when the blink could occur, so the sounds yielded no new time of occurrence information. For each subject, the blink duration was adjusted so that with no auditory signal the blink detection rate was close to 75%. The visual stimuli (luminous outline circles) were presented with an X-Y display system which permitted blink durations accurate to 2 ms. When a non-predictive sound burst matching the duration of the blink was presented simultaneously with the blink, there was a significant improvement in subject’s detection performance compared to trials with no sound. This result suggests that the temporal resolution of vision can be enhanced by the auditory system.