Perceptual training narrows the temporal window of multisensory binding

By Albert R. Powers, Andrea R. Hillock, Mark T. Wallace. 2009

323 citations recorded by the source corpus.

The brain's ability to bind incoming auditory and visual stimuli depends critically on the temporal structure of this information. Specifically, there exists a temporal window of audiovisual integration within which stimuli are highly likely to be bound together and perceived as part of the same environmental event. Several studies have described the temporal bounds of this window, but few have investigated its malleability. Here, the plasticity in the size of this temporal window was investigated using a perceptual learning paradigm in which participants were given feedback during a two-alternative forced choice (2-AFC) audiovisual simultaneity judgment task. Training resulted in a marked (i.e., ∼40%) narrowing in the size of the window. To rule out the possibility that this narrowing was the result of changes in cognitive biases, a second experiment using a two-interval forced choice (2-IFC) paradigm was undertaken during which participants were instructed to identify a simultaneously presented audiovisual pair presented within one of two intervals. The 2-IFC paradigm resulted in a narrowing that was similar in both degree and dynamics to that using the 2-AFC approach. Together, these results illustrate that different methods of multisensory perceptual training can result in substantial alterations in the circuits underlying the perception of audiovisual simultaneity. These findings suggest a high degree of flexibility in multisensory temporal processing and have important implications for interventional strategies that may be used to ameliorate clinical conditions (e.g., autism, dyslexia) in which multisensory temporal function may be impaired.

Subfields: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Sensory Systems, Social Psychology

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Citations in the corpus

Assessing the Role of the ‘Unity Assumption’ on Multisensory Integration: A Review (2017, background): “…events (Fujisaki et al., 2004; Vroomen et al., 2004), or after being trained to discriminate audiovisual synchrony (vs. asynchrony) with feedback (Powers et al., 2009), people’s perception of audiovisual simultaneity would change accordingly (see Vroomen and Keetels, 2010, for a review).”
Multisensory Processes: A Balancing Act across the Lifespan (2016, background): “Using classic perceptual plasticity-based approaches, it has been found that training on a simple task involving the judgment of the relative timing of an auditory and visual stimulus results in a substantial improvement in the ability to judge their timing [50,51].”
The Construct of the Multisensory Temporal Binding Window and its Dysregulation in Developmental Disabilities (2014, methodology): “As highlighted in an earlier section, we have successfully trained individuals to narrow the width of their TBW (Powers et al., 2009; Stevenson et al., 2013), with these changes accompanied by changes in a brain network centered on the pSTS (Fig.”
Developmental changes in the multisensory temporal binding window persist into adolescence (2012, background): “…window in our adult group (291 ms) is consistent with that reported in previous studies from our laboratory in different groups of adults on a highly similar task (Hillock et al., 2011 [300 ms]; Powers et al., 2009 [295 ms]), variability in window size is a common feature of the prior literature.”
Multisensory temporal integration: Task and stimulus dependencies (2013, methodology): “Not surprisingly, the TBW has been measured using a variety of different tasks, stimulus types, and statistical criteria (Dixon and Spitz 1980; Miller and D’Esposito 2005; Zampini et al. 2005; Conrey and Pisoni 2006; Vatakis and Spence 2006; van Atteveldt et al. 2007; van Wassenhove et al. 2007; Ste”
Music expertise shapes audiovisual temporal integration windows for speech, sinewave speech, and music (2014, background): “Recent studies have shown that the temporal integration window can be narrowed or shifted via long-term musical training (Petrini et al., 2009), short-term perceptual learning (Powers et al., 2009), or shortterm audiovisual exposure (Fujisaki et al., 2004).”
Contextual factors multiplex to control multisensory processes (2016, background): “This can include both online effects arising during the course of the experiment [e.g., Matusz et al., 2015b; Powers et al., 2009; Thelen et al., 2014; von Kriegstein and Giraud, 2006] as well as effects at even finer time-scales, such as those transpiring at an inter-trial level [King et al.”
Multisensory integration: flexible use of general operations (2014, unknown): “Increased sensitivity to audiovisual synchrony has been 1248 Neuron 81, March 19, 2014 ª2014 Elsevier Inc. found as a result of perceptual (Powers et al., 2009) or musical (Lee and Noppeney, 2011) training.”
The temporal binding window for audiovisual speech: Children are like little adults (2016, methodology): “The temporal window was established as the SOA corresponding to ¾ of the maximum fusion value from the fitted function (Powers et al., 2009; Hillock et al., 2011; Hillock-Dunn & Wallace, 2012).”