The neural mechanisms of audiotactile binding depend on asynchrony

Zumer, Johanna M.; White, Thomas P.; Noppeney, Uta

doi:10.1111/ejn.14928

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 100 publications

(128 reference statements)

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“…For example, Morís Fernández et al (2015) measured fMRI data and showed that multisensory integration occurred almost exclusively only when the congruent AV speech was attended. However, Ahmed et al, (2021) measured EEG and found some evidence for early AV integration in the unattended stream, consistent with the idea that distinct audiovisual computations emerge at different processing stages (Kayser & Shams, 2015;Talsma et al, 2007;Talsma & Woldorff, 2005;Zumer et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introduction (650 Words)supporting

confidence: 68%

Dissociable Neural Correlates of Multisensory Coherence and Selective Attention

et al. 2023

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Previous work has demonstrated that performance in an auditory selective attention task can be enhanced or impaired, depending on whether a task-irrelevant visual stimulus is temporally coherent with a target auditory stream or with a competing distractor. However, it remains unclear how audiovisual (AV) temporal coherence and auditory selective attention interact at the neurophysiological level. Here, we measured neural activity using electroencephalography (EEG) while human participants (men and women) performed an auditory selective attention task, detecting deviants in a target audio stream. The amplitude envelope of the two competing auditory streams changed independently, while the radius of a visual disc was manipulated to control the audiovisual coherence. Analysis of the neural responses to the sound envelope demonstrated that auditory responses were enhanced independently of the attentional condition: both target and masker stream responses were enhanced when temporally coherent with the visual stimulus. In contrast, attention enhanced the event-related response (ERP) evoked by the transient deviants, independently of AV coherence. Finally, in an exploratory analysis, we identified a spatiotemporal component of ERP, in which temporal coherence enhanced the deviant-evoked responses only in the unattended stream. These results provide evidence for dissociable neural signatures of bottom-up (coherence) and top-down (attention) effects in AV object formation.Significance StatementTemporal coherence between auditory stimuli and task-irrelevant visual stimuli can enhance behavioral performance in auditory selective attention tasks. However, how audiovisual temporal coherence and attention interact at the neural level has not been established. Here, we measured EEG during a behavioral task designed to independently manipulate AV coherence and auditory selective attention. While some auditory features (sound envelope) could be coherent with visual stimuli, other features (timbre) were independent of visual stimuli. We find that audiovisual integration can be observed independently of attention for sound envelopes temporally coherent with visual stimuli, while the neural responses to unexpected timbre changes are most strongly modulated by attention. Our results provide evidence for dissociable neural mechanisms of bottom-up (coherence) and top-down (attention) effects on AV object formation.

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Section: Introduction (650 Words)supporting

confidence: 68%

Dissociable Neural Correlates of Multisensory Coherence and Selective Attention

et al. 2023

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“…Initial causal inference based on temporal correlations and coincidence alone may thus occur in sensory cortices during anesthesia (Atilgan et al 2018). Relatively simple processing units similar to the Hassenstein-Reichard motion detector (Parise & Ernst 2016) or mechanisms of phase resetting (Kayser et al 2008, Lakatos et al 2007, Mercier et al 2013, Zumer et al 2021) may potentially support the computation of multisensory coincidence, correlations, and response enhancement for nearly synchronous stimuli in early sensory areas.…”

Section: Solving the Binding Problem: Causal Inferencementioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptual Inference, Learning, and Attention in a Multisensory World

Noppeney

2021

Annu. Rev. Neurosci.

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119

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Adaptive behavior in a complex, dynamic, and multisensory world poses some of the most fundamental computational challenges for the brain, notably inference, decision-making, learning, binding, and attention. We first discuss how the brain integrates sensory signals from the same source to support perceptual inference and decision-making by weighting them according to their momentary sensory uncertainties. We then show how observers solve the binding or causal inference problem—deciding whether signals come from common causes and should hence be integrated or else be treated independently. Next, we describe the multifarious interplay between multisensory processing and attention. We argue that attentional mechanisms are crucial to compute approximate solutions to the binding problem in naturalistic environments when complex time-varying signals arise from myriad causes. Finally, we review how the brain dynamically adapts multisensory processing to a changing world across multiple timescales. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Neuroscience, Volume 44 is July 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

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“…In everyday life our senses are exposed to a constant influx of sensory signals. To form a coherent percept the brain needs to bind signals that arise from a common event and treat signals separately from different events 1 – 7 . Temporal synchrony is a critical cue for solving this binding problem 8 – 11 .…”

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confidence: 99%

The role of alpha oscillations in temporal binding within and across the senses

Buergers

Noppeney

2022

Nat Hum Behav

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An intriguing notion in cognitive neuroscience posits that alpha oscillations mould how the brain parses the constant influx of sensory signals into discrete perceptual events. Yet, the evidence is controversial and the underlying neural mechanism unclear. Further, it is unknown whether alpha oscillations influence observers’ perceptual sensitivity (i.e. temporal resolution) or their top-down biases to bind signals within and across the senses. Combining EEG, psychophysics and signal detection theory, this multi-day study rigorously assessed the impact of alpha frequency on temporal binding of signals within and across the senses. In a series of two-flash discrimination experiments twenty human observers were presented with one or two flashes together with none, one or two sounds. Our results provide robust evidence that pre-stimulus alpha frequency as a dynamic neural state and an individual’s trait index does not influence observers’ perceptual sensitivity or bias for two-flash discrimination in any of the three sensory contexts. These results challenge the notion that alpha oscillations have a profound impact on how observers parse sensory inputs into discrete perceptual events.

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The neural mechanisms of audiotactile binding depend on asynchrony

Cited by 6 publications

References 100 publications

Dissociable Neural Correlates of Multisensory Coherence and Selective Attention

Dissociable Neural Correlates of Multisensory Coherence and Selective Attention

Perceptual Inference, Learning, and Attention in a Multisensory World

The role of alpha oscillations in temporal binding within and across the senses

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