Toward a Unified Theory of the Reference Frame of the Ventriloquism Aftereffect

The ventriloquism aftereffect (VAE), observed as a shift in the perceived locations of sounds after audio-visual stimulation, requires reference frame (RF) alignment since hearing and vision encode space in different RFs (head-centered vs. eye-centered). Previous experimental studies reported inconsistent results, observing either a mixture of head-centered and eye-centered frames, or a predominantly head-centered frame. Here, a computational model is introduced, examining the neural mechanisms underlying these effects. The basic model version assumes that the auditory spatial map is head-centered and the visual signals are converted to head-centered frame prior to inducing the adaptation. Two mechanisms are considered as extended model versions to describe the mixed-frame experimental data: (1) additional presence of visual signals in eye-centered frame and (2) eye-gaze direction-dependent attenuation in VAE when eyes shift away from the training fixation. Simulation results show that the mixed-frame results are mainly due to the second mechanism, suggesting that the RF of VAE is mainly head-centered. Additionally, a mechanism is proposed to explain a new ventriloquism-aftereffect-like phenomenon in which adaptation is induced by aligned audio-visual signals when saccades are used for responding to auditory targets. A version of the model extended to consider such response-method-related biases accurately predicts the new phenomenon. When attempting to model all the experimentally observed phenomena simultaneously, the model predictions are qualitatively similar but less accurate, suggesting that the proposed neural mechanisms interact in a more complex way than assumed in the model.