Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Estimating Vestibular Perceptual Thresholds Using a Six-Degree-Of-Freedom Motion Platform
Published on: August 4, 2022
Perceived timing of vestibular stimulation relative to touch, light and sound
Michael Barnett-Cowan1, Laurence R Harris
1Department of Psychology, Multisensory Integration Laboratory, Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada. mikebc@yorku.ca
Abstract:
Different senses have different processing times. Here we measured the perceived timing of galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) relative to tactile, visual and auditory stimuli. Simple reaction times for perceived head movement (438 +/- 49 ms) were significantly longer than to touches (245 +/- 14 ms), lights (220 +/- 13 ms), or sounds (197 +/- 13 ms). Temporal order and simultaneity judgments both indicated that GVS had to occur about 160 ms before other stimuli to be perceived as simultaneous with them. This lead was significantly less than the relative timing predicted by reaction time differences compatible with an incomplete tendency to compensate for differences in processing times.
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