Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2013 Sep;28(3):802-12.
doi: 10.1037/a0033289. Epub 2013 Aug 26.

Multisensory integration, aging, and the sound-induced flash illusion

Denton J DeLoss  1 , Russell S Pierce, George J Andersen
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Multisensory integration, aging, and the sound-induced flash illusion

Denton J DeLoss et al. Psychol Aging. 2013 Sep.

Abstract

The present study examined age-related differences in multisensory integration and the role of attention in age-related differences in multisensory integration. The sound-induced flash illusion--the misperception of the number of visual flashes due to the simultaneous presentation of a different number of auditory beeps--was used to examine the strength of multisensory integration in older and younger observers. The effects of integration were examined when discriminating 1-3 flashes, 1-3 beeps, or 1-3 flashes presented with 1-3 beeps. Stimulus conditions were blocked according to these conditions with baseline (unisensory) performance assessed during the multisensory block. Older participants demonstrated greater multisensory integration--a greater influence of the beeps when judging the number of visual flashes--than younger observers. In a second experiment, the role of attention was assessed using a go/no-go paradigm. The results of Experiment 2 replicated those of Experiment 1. In addition, the strength of the illusion was modulated by the sensory domain of the go/no-go task, though this did not differ by age group. In the visual go/no-go task we found a decrease in the illusion, yet in the auditory go/no-go task we found an increase in the illusion. These results demonstrate that older individuals exhibit increased multisensory integration compared with younger individuals. Attention was also found to modulate the strength of the sound-induced flash illusion. However, the results also suggest that attention was not likely to be a factor in the age-related differences in multisensory integration.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Panel A shows the mean perceived number of flashes as indicated by age group and number of flashes for the flash only block for Experiment 1. Panel B shows the mean perceived number of flashes as indicated by age group and number of beeps for the multisensory block for Experiment 1. Error bars indicate ±1 SEM.. Error bars indicate ±1 SEM.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean perceived number of flashes as indicated by number of flashes and number of beeps for the multisensory block for Experiment 1. Error bars indicate ±1 SEM.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean perceived number of flashes as indicated by number of flashes, modality and age for the multisensory block for Experiment 1. Error bars indicate ±1 SEM.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Mean perceived number of flashes as indicated by number of beeps and block for Experiment 2. Error bars indicate ±1 SEM.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Mean perceived number of flashes as indicated by age and presentation type for Experiment 2. Error bars indicate ±1 SEM.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Alsius A, Navarra J, Campbell R, Soto-Faraco S. Audiovisual integration of speech falters under high attention demands. Current biology 3: CB. 2005;15(9):839–43. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2005.03.046. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Andersen GJ. Aging and vision: changes in function and performance from optics to perception. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science. 2012;3(3):403–10. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1167. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Andersen GJ, Atchley P. Age-Related Differences in the Detection of Three-Dimensional Surfaces From Optic Flow. Psychology and Aging. 1995;10(4):650–8. - PubMed
    1. Andersen GJ, Enriquez A. Aging and the Detection of Observer and Moving Object Collisions. 2006;21(1):74–85. doi: 10.1037/0882-7974.21.1.74. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Andersen GJ, Ni R, Bower JD, Watanabe T. Perceptual learning, aging, and improved visual performance in early stages of visual processing. Journal of Vision. 2010;10(13):4. doi: 10.1167/10.13.4. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types