Selective attention to sound features mediates cross-modal activation of visual cortices.

Details

Ressource 1Download: 32442445AuthorManuscript.pdf (839.56 [Ko])
State: Public
Version: Author's accepted manuscript
License: Not specified
Serval ID
serval:BIB_65FDD7B1675B
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Selective attention to sound features mediates cross-modal activation of visual cortices.
Journal
Neuropsychologia
Author(s)
Retsa C., Matusz P.J., Schnupp JWH, Murray M.M.
ISSN
1873-3514 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
0028-3932
Publication state
Published
Issued date
07/2020
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
144
Pages
107498
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Publication Status: ppublishhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107498
Abstract
Contemporary schemas of brain organization now include multisensory processes both in low-level cortices as well as at early stages of stimulus processing. Evidence has also accumulated showing that unisensory stimulus processing can result in cross-modal effects. For example, task-irrelevant and lateralised sounds can activate visual cortices; a phenomenon referred to as the auditory-evoked contralateral occipital positivity (ACOP). Some claim this is an example of automatic attentional capture in visual cortices. Other results, however, indicate that context may play a determinant role. Here, we investigated whether selective attention to spatial features of sounds is a determining factor in eliciting the ACOP. We recorded high-density auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) while participants selectively attended and discriminated sounds according to four possible stimulus attributes: location, pitch, speaker identity or syllable. Sound acoustics were held constant, and their location was always equiprobable (50% left, 50% right). The only manipulation was to which sound dimension participants attended. We analysed the AEP data from healthy participants within an electrical neuroimaging framework. The presence of sound-elicited activations of visual cortices depended on the to-be-discriminated, goal-based dimension. The ACOP was elicited only when participants were required to discriminate sound location, but not when they attended to any of the non-spatial features. These results provide a further indication that the ACOP is not automatic. Moreover, our findings showcase the interplay between task-relevance and spatial (un)predictability in determining the presence of the cross-modal activation of visual cortices.
Keywords
Attention, Context, Cross-modal, ERP, Multisensory, Visual
Pubmed
Web of science
Funding(s)
Swiss National Science Foundation / Projects / 320030_169206
Create date
10/06/2020 22:00
Last modification date
20/01/2021 7:09
Usage data