"Acoustical vision" of below threshold stimuli: interaction among spatially converging audiovisual inputs

Abstract

Crossmodal spatial integration between auditory and visual stimuli is a common phenomenon in space perception. The principles underlying such integration have been outlined by neurophysiological and behavioral studies in animals; this study investigated whether the integrative effects observed in animals also apply to humans. In this experiment we systematically varied the spatial disparity (0 degrees, 16 degrees, and 32 degrees) and the temporal interval (0, 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 ms) between the visual and the auditory stimuli. Normal subjects were required to detect visual stimuli presented below threshold either in unimodal visual conditions or in crossmodal audiovisual conditions. Signal detection measures were used. An enhancement of the perceptual sensitivity (d') for luminance detection was found when the audiovisual stimuli followed a simple spatial and temporal rule, governing multisensory integration at the neuronal level.