Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Published on: April 22, 2015
Aspects of multisensory perception: the integration of visual and auditory information in musical experiences
Donald A Hodges1, W David Hairston, Jonathan H Burdette
1Music Research Institute, School of Music, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, P.O. Box 26170, 27402-6170, USA. dahodges@uncg.edu
Abstract:
One of the requirements for being a successful musical conductor is to be able to locate sounds instantaneously in time and space. Because this requires the integration of auditory and visual information, the purpose of this study was to examine multisensory processing in conductors and a matched set of control subjects. Subjects participated in a series of behavioral tasks, including pitch discrimination, temporal-order judgment (TOJ), and target localization. Additionally, fMRI scans were done on a subset of subjects who performed a multisensory TOJ task. Analyses of behavioral data indicate that, in the auditory realm, conductors were more accurate in both pitch discrimination and TOJs as well as in locating targets in space. Furthermore, these same subjects also demonstrated a benefit from the combination of auditory and visual information that was not observed in control subjects when locating visual targets. Finally, neural substrates in BA 37, 39/40 were identified as potential areas underlying the conductors' superior multisensory TOJs. Data collection and analyses are ongoing and will lead to an improved understanding of multisensory integration in a complex, musical behavior.
Related Concept Videos
Auditory Perception
Hearing
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...
Auditory Pathway
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...
Synesthesia
Perception of Sound Waves
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same frequency...

