Distorting visual space with sound
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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

A Method to Study Adaptation to Left-Right Reversed Audition
Published on: October 29, 2018
Stephen R Arnott1, Melvyn A Goodale
1Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ont., Canada N6A 5C2. sarnott3@uwo.ca
Abstract:
Attentional repulsion is described as the perceived displacement of a vernier stimulus in a direction that is opposite to a brief peripheral visual cue (Suzuki & Cavanagh, 1997). Here, we demonstrate that visual repulsion can also be elicited using lateralized sounds. Given that repulsion is believed to be occurring in early retinotopic visual areas, these results raise the possibility that the location of a sound could directly influence the pattern of activity as early as primary visual cortex.
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