Unveiling the mind's ear: Understanding the science behind auditory processing using illusions
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Updated: May 24, 2025

A Method to Study Adaptation to Left-Right Reversed Audition
Published on: October 29, 2018
Anusha Yasoda-Mohan1, Feifan Chen1, Sven Vanneste2
1Lab for Clinical and Integrative Neuroscience, Trinity College Institute for Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, D02 PN40, Dublin, Ireland; School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, D02 PN40, Dublin, Ireland.
Abstract:
Our perceptual experience is not purely driven by the information our senses receive but is an active combination of prior experience and the sensory information that we receive. This is promisingly demonstrated by an illusory experience. Particularly in the auditory domain, we encounter illusions that serve as a tool to understand the more holistic and bigger umbrella of auditory processing. In the current manuscript, we review spectral, temporal, spatial auditory and multisensory processing through the lens of auditory illusions. We review examples of auditory illusions that could serve as models to better comprehend these sub-domains of auditory processing. We also explore the literature where these illusions have been used as a causal human model to unravel mechanisms behind neuropathology and conclude with futuristic applications of auditory illusions.
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