Crossmodal object-based attention: auditory objects affect visual processing
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Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Cross-Modal Multivariate Pattern Analysis
Published on: November 9, 2011
Massimo Turatto1, Veronica Mazza, Carlo Umiltà
1Department of Cognitive Science and Education, University of Trento, Via Matteo del Ben, 5, 38068 Rovereto (TN), Italy. massimo.turatto@unitn.it
Abstract:
According to the object-based view, visual attention can be deployed to "objects" or perceptual units, regardless of spatial locations. Recently, however, the notion of object has also been extended to the auditory domain, with some authors suggesting possible interactions between visual and auditory objects. Here we show that task-irrelevant auditory objects may affect the deployment of visual attention, providing evidence that crossmodal links can also occur at an object-based level. Hence, in addition to the well documented control of visual objects over what we hear, our findings demonstrate that, in some cases, auditory objects can affect visual processing.
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