lecture 4 - multisensory integration Flashcards
definitions
-multisensory
-cross-modal
-integration
Multisensory: More than one modality is used in perception
Cross-modal: Interactions between different
modalities → one sense affects perceptions provided by a different sense
Integration: Merging information from different modalities into a unified percept
how is perception multisensory
Perception is multisensory in natural interactions with the environment
- Information from different senses can either be complementary or redundant/ overlapping
multisensory information ________ reliability of the percept and provides a more complete representation of the world
Multisensory information increases
reliability of the percept and provides a more complete representation of the world
(+ increases resistance to interference)
different modalities can provide convergent information about…
-what does this mean for the CNS
Different modalities can provide convergent information about the same external event/properties
- CNS has to disentangle cases where stimulation of different senses is unrelated and where it is related
simple heuristics for integration
(3) (how do we know information from 2 senses belong together)
1) Temporal correlation:
Stimulation of different modalities occurs at, (roughly) the same time.
2) Spatial congruency:
Stimuli in the different senses come from approximately the same location
3) Inverse effectiveness:
Reduced benefit of multisensory integration the stronger the unimodal signal of a cross-modal
cue is → Multisensory response is stronger when one stimulus by itself is quite weak
what is inverse effectiveness
Degree to which a multisensory response exceeds the response of the most effective modality specific
stimulus component declines as the effectiveness of the modality-specific stimulus component increases
inverse effectiveness on a neural level
-what is the point of this
example of one neuron and its reaction to a weak stimulus
Multi-modal neurons in Superior Colliculus (SC) (relevant for rapid orienting of attention):
-when neuron reacts to JUST visual input there is a weak respons, same as when it reacts to auditory input and has a weak response
- Spikes produced by combination of visual and auditory event (5) is larger than the individual
neural spikes in response to visual (1) and auditory stimuli (2) - Superadditivity of spike counts:
Multisensory response is greater than the sum of uni-sensory responses - Sum usually only larger for weak inputs (near threshold) → aids detection of weak stimuli
→ speeds up behavioural responses
inverse effectiveness
-photos of the dog , 1,2,3
1) dog far away from window, weak auditory stimuli, and periphery
2)
Superadditivity: Both cues are weak – response exceeds the sum of the separate inputs
- Additivity: As cues become stronger unisensory responses become stronger → integrated response is not different from the sum of the responses to each component
- Subadditivity: Combined input is smaller than the sum of the two uni-sensory inputs (but still exceeds the largest single input response)
neural mechanisms
subcortical areas : the superior colliculus
-where is it located
-how many multinsensory neurons
-do neurons overlap
Located in the mid-brain –
important for orienting
behaviour and fast motor
reactions
- High(est) proportion of
multisensory neurons
(extensively studied) - Neurons show overlapping
spatial maps for visual, auditory
and somatosensory modalities
neural mechanisms
-cortical areas
-how many multisensory neurons and where
- what did the studies of this area focus on
- Multisensory neurons are
found in most areas – often in combination with unimodal neurons
-Even in areas previously considered modality specific (e.g., neurons in visual cortex respond to tactile cues, and neurons in primary auditory cortex are activated by
visual lip movements
Studies in primates primarily focussed on posterior parietal cortex (converging information from visual, vestibular, tactile
and auditory system
cross modal integration
-how is input from two senses combined perceptually?
Different modalities are combined to yield the best estimate of the external properties
The modality that provides more reliable information is given more weight (greater reduction in uncertainty)
cross modal integration examples
→ e.g., vision strongly influences auditory localisation
(ventriloquist effect) – vision is spatially more accurate
→ audition can dominate vision in temporal properties,
e.g., auditory flutter drives perception of visual flicker (the two flash illusion
→ Modality appropriateness hypothesis
what is semantic congruency
Semantic congruency (consistent
meaning of two stimuli) Semantic congruency refers to the degree of similarity or compatibility between two pieces of information, such as words or stimuli, based on their meaning or semantic content.
semantic congruency _______ multinsensory stimulus integration and…
Semantic congruency (consistent
meaning of two stimuli) strengthens
multisensory stimulus integration and corresponding behavioural
performance
semantic congruency and its affect on speed of participants responses
Semantic congruency of visual and
auditory stimuli affects the speed of
participants responses
→ faster target detections when
visual stimulus is accompanied by a
semantically congruent sound
two visuals of- teleophone and frog
two sounds of teleophone and frog
-did a combination- press a button whenever you see or hear the telephone
-if you only see the teleophone (visual stimulus) you have a reaction time of jus under 5 ms, and if you only hear it there is similar reaction time
-incogruent : see the teleophone and hear the frogor vice versa (slow reaction time)
-
crossmodal illusions
-what is the parchment-skin Illusion
-complementary information improves the reliability of our perception
-sound modifies tactile sensations
-enhanced high frequency feedback makes the skin feel drier
-temporal coincidence required