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Memory Load Alters Perception-Related Neural Oscillations during Multisensory Integration
Georgios Michail1, Daniel Senkowski2, Michael Niedeggen3
1Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, St. Hedwig Hopsital, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin 10115, Germany georgios.michail@charite.de.
Summary
Limited cognitive resources increase susceptibility to multisensory illusions, like the sound-induced flash illusion (SIFI). This suggests that cognitive load impacts how the brain integrates sensory information, engaging specific brain oscillations (theta and beta) when resources are scarce.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Human Perception
- Multisensory Integration
Background:
- Human perception relies on integrating information across senses.
- Multisensory integration is influenced by bottom-up and top-down processes.
- The impact of cognitive resource availability on this interplay is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how limited cognitive resources affect audiovisual integration.
- To examine the neural mechanisms underlying this effect using electroencephalography (EEG).
Main Methods:
- Participants performed the sound-induced flash illusion (SIFI) task under varying cognitive loads (0-back, 2-back verbal task).
- High-density EEG was recorded to measure neural activity.
- Dual-task design assessed the influence of working memory load on SIFI perception and neural oscillations.
Main Results:
- Increased cognitive load (high vs. low) enhanced susceptibility to the SIFI.
- Neural oscillations associated with crossmodal interactions were modulated by cognitive load.
- Illusion perception under high load involved reduced early beta power, increased frontal theta power in ACC, and later beta suppression in prefrontal and auditory cortices.
Conclusions:
- Integrative crossmodal interactions, as demonstrated by the SIFI, are sensitive to cognitive resource availability.
- Multisensory integration under cognitive constraint engages top-down theta and beta oscillations.
- The findings highlight the dynamic interplay between cognitive resources and sensory processing.
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