Rightward shift of the auditory subjective straight ahead in right- and left-handed subjects

While spatial asymmetries have been extensively investigated in the visual modality and to a lesser degree in the tactile modality, there are no reports on auditory spatial asymmetries in neurologically normal subjects. The subjects in this study performed an auditory midline task in which they had to adjust the level of two sounds that were presented simultaneously in different hemispaces so as to make the perceived fused sound appear to emanate from the midsagittal plane. The results showed that subjects reported a sound to be central when it was lateralized to the left (i.e., more intense at the left ear), as if there were a rightward shift in the perceived location. This rightward shift was more pronounced in left-handed than in right-handed subjects, even though all the subjects had to use both hands to adjust the sound level. Gaze direction significantly modulated the shift of the perceived auditory midline: the rightward shift was maximal when the subjects' gaze direction was central and 30 degrees to the right, while it disappeared when the gaze was directed 30 degrees to the left side. These results are compared with data obtained from neglect patients in previous studies and are discussed in terms of the interaction between asymmetrical hemispheric activations in auditory spatial tasks and an asymmetrical allocation of attention between the left and right hemispaces.