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Movement Sonification During Haptic Exploration Shifts Emotional Outcome Without Altering Texture Perception
Laurence Mouchnino1,2, Pierre-Henri Cornuault3, Jenny Faucheu4
1Aix-Marseille Université CNRS, CRPN, 13284 Marseille, France.
Journal of Integrative Neuroscience
|November 7, 2025
Summary
Adding sound to touch exploration did not alter texture perception. However, unpleasant sounds intensified negative feelings towards rougher surfaces, influencing brain activity in sensory and visual areas.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sensory Perception
- Multisensory Integration
Background:
- Multisensory processing integrates auditory and haptic information.
- Auditory stimuli can influence tactile perception and emotional responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how auditory-evoked emotions affect textured surface appraisal.
- To examine changes in cortical excitability during audio-tactile interaction.
Main Methods:
- Twelve participants explored rough and slippery surfaces with and without movement sonification (pleasant/disagreeable).
- Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to analyze brain activity, specifically beta-band power.
Main Results:
- Auditory sonification did not alter texture appraisal but influenced hedonic valence, especially with disagreeable sounds and rougher surfaces.
- Reduced beta-band power in sensorimotor and parietal cortices indicated audio-tactile binding.
- Increased beta-band power in visual areas during disagreeable sonification suggested disengagement from visual processing.
Conclusions:
- Auditory hedonic valence modulates emotional processing without disrupting texture perception.
- Neural mechanisms of audio-tactile binding involve somatosensory and parietal cortices.
- Emotional responses to sound can intensify tactile unpleasantness via visual cortex modulation.
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