Effects of FM sounds on the perceived magnitude of self-motion induced by vestibular information
Shuichi Sakamoto, Maori Kobayashi, Mikio Seto, Kenzo Sakurai, Jiro Gyoba, Yo-iti Suzuki
Poster
Last modified: 2008-05-13
Abstract
Frequency-modulated (FM) sounds impart significant effects on perceived self-motion because they convey information of a sound source’s relative motion, as in the Doppler Effect. We examined whether FM sounds affect the perceived magnitude of backward-forward self-motion. The center frequency of one-octave band-pass noise was modulated smoothly between low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF). The amount of modulation accorded with the velocity of motion in Exp. 1 and with its acceleration in Exp. 2. Experiment 1 examined three types of modulation: LF at the back dead center with HF at the front dead center (type 1-1), in the opposite direction to type 1-1 (type 1-2), and constant frequency (type REF as a reference). Experiment 2 examined three other types of modulation: LF at the front and back dead center with HF at the bottom dead center (type 2-1), in the opposite direction to type 2-1 (type 2-2), and type REF. The perceived magnitude of self-motion was significantly larger than that with the reference in Exp. 2; Exp. 1 yielded no significant result. These results suggest that auditory-vestibular integration depends on the type of frequency modulation of its auditory stimulus.
