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Are alpha oscillations instrumental in multisensory synchrony perception?
Marcel Bastiaansen1, Hermine Berberyan2, Jeroen J Stekelenburg3
1Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Tilburg, the Netherlands; Breda University of Applied Sciences, Academy for Leisure, Breda, the Netherlands.
Brain Research
|March 2, 2020
Summary
Neuronal alpha oscillations play a key role in multisensory perception. Lower occipital alpha power and individual alpha frequency predict better temporal integration for visual and auditory stimuli.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Sensory Integration
Background:
- Multisensory integration combines diverse sensory inputs into a unified perception.
- This integration relies on temporal synchrony, with a specific temporal window of integration.
- Neuronal oscillations, particularly in the alpha frequency range, are hypothesized to influence perceptual timing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of ongoing neuronal alpha oscillations in multimodal synchrony perception.
- To determine if alpha oscillations modulate the temporal window of integration for visual and auditory stimuli.
Main Methods:
- Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to measure brain activity.
- Participants performed a simultaneity judgment task with visual stimuli preceding auditory stimuli.
- Stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) ranged from 160-200 ms, where simultaneity judgments were near chance (50%).
Main Results:
- Lower occipital alpha power was observed preceding correct simultaneity judgments.
- Individual alpha frequency positively correlated with the size of the temporal window of integration.
- A marginal effect of 12.5 Hz oscillatory phase on simultaneity judgments was found.
Conclusions:
- Ongoing alpha oscillations are instrumental in multisensory perception and synchrony detection.
- Alpha oscillations, specifically their power and frequency, shape the temporal window of integration.
- These findings highlight the role of oscillatory neural activity in coordinating multisensory experiences.
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