A Matched Comparison Across Three Different Sensory Pairs of Cross-Modal Temporal Recalibration From Sustained and Transient Adaptation

Abstract

Sustained exposure to an asynchronous multisensory signal causes perceived simultaneity to shift in the direction of the leading component of the adapting stimulus. This is known as temporal recalibration, and recent evidence suggests that it can occur very rapidly, even after a single asynchronous audiovisual (AV) stimulus. However, this form of rapid recalibration appears to be unique to AV stimuli, in contrast to recalibration following sustained asynchronies which occurs with audiotactile (AT) and visuotactile (VT) stimuli. This study examines temporal recalibration to AV, VT and AT asynchrony with spatially collocated stimuli using a design that produces both sustained and inter-trial recalibration by combining the traditional sustained adaptation approach with an inter-trial analysis of sequential dependencies in an extended test period. Thus, we compare temporal recalibration to both sustained and transient asynchrony in three crossmodal combinations using the same design, stimuli and observers. The results reveal that prolonged exposure to asynchrony produced equivalent temporal recalibration for all combinations: AV, AT and VT. The pattern for rapid, inter-trial recalibration was very different. Rapid recalibration occurred strongly for AV stimuli, weakly for AT and did not occur at all for VT. For all sensory pairings, recalibration from sustained asynchrony decayed to baseline during the test phase while inter-trial recalibration was present and stable throughout testing, suggesting different mechanisms may underlie adaptation at long and short timescales.

Rapid temporal recalibration to visuo–tactile stimuli

“…Previous studies reported rapid recalibration effects for audio–visual stimuli, but were unable to demonstrate rapid recalibration for visuo–tactile stimuli (van der Burg et al 2015b ; Alais et al 2017 ). A major difference between our study and previous studies is the length of the SOAs between visual and tactile stimuli.…”

“…Recently, studies have shown that temporal recalibration can be induced even by a single trial, the so-called rapid recalibration (van der Burg et al 2013 , 2015b ). Unlike recalibration following sustained adaptation, rapid recalibration has been reported only for audio–visual stimuli, while it was absent for visuo–tactile stimuli (van der Burg et al 2015b ; Alais et al 2017 ). In the present study, however, we were able to demonstrate rapid recalibration for visuo–tactile stimuli.…”

“…A major difference between our study and previous studies is the length of the SOAs between visual and tactile stimuli. Typically, previous studies used SOAs with a minimum length of 90–100 ms (Hanson et al 2008 ; Harrar and Harris 2008 ; van der Burg et al 2013 , 2015b ; Alais et al 2017 ). Such a long SOA was sufficient to induce recalibration effects after sustained adaptation phases for audio–visual, audio–tactile and visuo–tactile stimuli.…”

“…Such a long SOA was sufficient to induce recalibration effects after sustained adaptation phases for audio–visual, audio–tactile and visuo–tactile stimuli. In addition, SOAs ≥ 100 ms have been shown to induce rapid recalibration for audio–visual stimuli but not for visuo–tactile stimuli (van der Burg et al 2015b ; Alais et al 2017 ). Our results confirm these previous results.…”

Serial Dependence in Visual Variance

“…In broader terms, serial dependence in variance judgments could be regarded as part of a generic strategy of mirroring or transferring trusted decisions. This explanation could also encompass the negative serial dependence associated with low confidence (as a repulsion away from judgments deemed unreliable); however, the different timescales over which the positive and negative biases operate suggest that they are independent mechanisms rather than two aspects of a confidence-based strategy (Alais, Ho, & Han, 2017).…”