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Quadri-stability of a spatially ambiguous auditory illusion
Constance M Bainbridge1, Wilma A Bainbridge2, Aude Oliva1
1Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA, USA.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
|February 3, 2015
Summary
A new auditory illusion, the Transverse-and-Bounce Auditory Illusion, creates four possible motion perceptions from sound. This quadri-stable illusion demonstrates how the human auditory system processes sound motion and front-back confusion.
Area of Science:
- Auditory perception
- Psychoacoustics
- Human auditory system
Background:
- Audition is crucial for sound localization and estimating object motion via volume intensity changes.
- The human auditory system struggles with front-back sound localization.
- Existing methods for studying auditory motion perception have limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and investigate a novel quadri-stable auditory illusion, the Transverse-and-Bounce Auditory Illusion.
- To explore how this illusion combines front-back confusion with volume changes to create ambiguous motion percepts.
- To test the stability and characteristics of the perceived illusory motion.
Main Methods:
- Comparing listener confidence and perception of ambiguous illusory stimuli versus unambiguous stimuli.
- Presenting four distinct illusory motion percepts (transverse front-to-back, back-to-front, and bouncing front/behind).
- Analyzing perceptual switching, locking, and biases using continuously looped illusory stimuli in headphones.
Main Results:
- Listeners reported equal confidence in perceiving illusory and unambiguous motion stimuli.
- Participants could not distinguish between the illusory and unambiguous stimuli, confirming the illusion's effectiveness.
- Listeners exhibited a bias towards perceiving transverse motion over bouncing motion and became perceptually locked into alternating front-to-back and back-to-front percepts.
Conclusions:
- The Transverse-and-Bounce Auditory Illusion is a robust, quadri-stable phenomenon.
- This illusion provides a new tool for studying the perception of auditory motion, perceptual ambiguity, and biases.
- Findings offer insights into the neural and cognitive representations of moving auditory objects and multimodal awareness.
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