Integration in multisensory information processing

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23680029
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Cognitive science
• Research Institution: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
• Principal Investigator: YAMAMOTO Shinya 独立行政法人産業技術総合研究所, ヒューマンライフテクノロジー研究部門, 主任研究員 (90371088)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 認知科学 / 神経科学 / 時間知覚 / 情報統合

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The brain is able to determine the temporal order of multiple sensory signals (e.g., visual and auditory signals) arising from the same or different events; this is a key factor in reconstructing the external world. However, the existence of two types of time lag, physical (from the event to receptors) and neural (from receptors to a comparator), makes temporal ordering a complex process. Physical time lags are flexible (e.g., dependent on current physical context such as distance from the event), while neural time lags are stable (e.g., changing slowly in the process of development or aging). We performed a series of experiments of audiovisual temporal order judgments, and showed the existence of different types of temporal recalibrations with distinct time constants: a fast type that primarily adjust for physical lag (lag adaptation) and a slower type that principally adjust for neural lag (zero adjustment).

Free Research Field

認知科学