Feature-defined auditory saliency captures visual timing

Takuro Kayahara, Department of Spatial Design and Information Systems, Miyagi University

Abstract
It is not easy to decide which information in one modality should be integrated with which one in the other modality to perceive coherent world, because the world consists of too many objects and events. The cues and the mechanisms for correct integration of information from different modality remain unclear. In this study, the phenomenon in which the salient tone element defined by frequency difference in a tonal sequence captures perceived timing of visual flash was reported.
In the experiment, visual flash of a disk on a CRT display was presented at the same time of 2nd or 3rd element tone in an auditory sequence which consisted of 4 sine waves of 100-ms duration. Subjects were required to respond which element of 2nd or 3rd in the auditory sequence was heard when the disk was presented. In results, subjects could judge correctly which auditory element was heard at the same time of the disk when the frequency of all auditory elements was the same, although when the frequency of 2nd or 3rd element was different from other elements of the sequence, 2nd or 3rd element captures the 'timing' of the disk, and judgment of subjects was biased significantly. These results suggest that the integration of the information from different modality might not be achieved by static cues or mechanisms such as mere timing between modalities, but be achieved with some dynamic manners depending on the structure of information in one modality.

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