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Assessment of Audio-Tactile Sensory Substitution Training in Participants with Profound Deafness Using the Event-Related Potential Technique
Published on: September 7, 2022
Separate mechanisms for audio-tactile pitch and loudness interactions
Jeffrey M Yau1, Alison I Weber, Sliman J Bensmaia
1Department of Neurology, Division of Cognitive Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore, MD, USA.
Frontiers in Psychology
|September 3, 2011
Summary
Auditory and touch signals link temporal frequency perception, but loudness interactions depend on attention. This reveals distinct neural mechanisms for integrating sound and touch based on the perceptual task.
Area of Science:
- Perceptual neuroscience
- Multisensory integration
- Auditory and tactile processing
Background:
- Understanding how the brain combines signals from different senses (multisensory integration) is crucial for stable perception.
- Previous work explored auditory influences on touch; this study examines the converse: tactile influences on audition.
- Both audition and touch are sensitive to environmental oscillations, suggesting potential interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cross-modal effects of tactile distractors on auditory perception.
- To comprehensively analyze audio-tactile interactions by combining results from previous and current studies.
- To determine how these interactions vary based on the attended sensory modality and perceptual task.
Main Methods:
- Employed a psychophysical paradigm to measure auditory and tactile perception.
- Systematically introduced tactile distractors during auditory tasks and vice versa.
- Analyzed interactions in temporal frequency, intensity (loudness), and pitch perception.
Main Results:
- Temporal frequency representations are perceptually linked across audition and touch, irrespective of the attended modality.
- Loudness (intensity) interactions are asymmetric: tactile distractors affect auditory judgments, but auditory distractors do not affect tactile judgments.
- Audio-tactile loudness interactions are highly dependent on stimulus timing, whereas pitch interactions are not.
Conclusions:
- Auditory and tactile inputs are integrated differently depending on the specific perceptual task (e.g., frequency, loudness, pitch).
- Distinct rules governing the integration of auditory and tactile signals for pitch and loudness suggest separate underlying neural mechanisms.
- These findings highlight the complexity and task-specific nature of multisensory integration in the human brain.
Related Concept Videos
01:21Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
The human brain perceives pitch through two primary mechanisms reflected in place theory and frequency theory. Each mechanism describes how sound waves are interpreted as specific pitches by the brain, offering insights into the intricate processes of auditory perception.
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...
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...
01:13The Cochlea
The cochlea is a coiled structure in the inner ear that contains hair cells—the sensory receptors of the auditory system. Sound waves are transmitted to the cochlea by small bones attached to the eardrum called the ossicles, which vibrate the oval window that leads to the inner ear. This causes fluid in the chambers of the cochlea to move, vibrating the basilar membrane.
01:31Hearing
When we hear a sound, our nervous system is detecting sound waves—pressure waves of mechanical energy traveling through a medium. The frequency of the wave is perceived as pitch, while the amplitude is perceived as loudness.
01:01Perception of Sound Waves
The human ear is not equally sensitive to all frequencies in the audible range. It may perceive sound waves with the same pressure but different frequencies as having different loudness. Moreover, the perception of sound waves depends on the health of an individual's ears, which decays with age. The health of one's ears may also be affected by regular exposure to loud noises.
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same frequency...
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same frequency...
00:53Sound Intensity Level
Humans perceive sound by hearing. The human ear helps sound waves reach the brain, which then interprets the waves and creates the perception of hearing. The loudness of the environment in which a person is located determines whether they can distinguish between different sound sources.
The human ear can perceive an extensive range of sound intensity, necessitating the use of the logarithmic scale to define a physical quantity—the intensity level. It is a ratio of two intensities and hence a...
The human ear can perceive an extensive range of sound intensity, necessitating the use of the logarithmic scale to define a physical quantity—the intensity level. It is a ratio of two intensities and hence a...
01:15Auditory Pathway
Auditory pathways constitute the complex neural circuits responsible for transmitting and interpreting auditory information from the peripheral auditory system to the brain. Sound waves are initially captured by the outer ear, funneled through the ear canal, and reach the tympanic membrane (eardrum). These vibrations are transmitted via the middle ear's ossicles to the inner ear's cochlea.
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...
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