Press Releases | June 4, 2021

Touch detection is facilitated by task-irrelevant approaching sound in front, rear, left, and right

Researchers at Toyohashi University of Technology, Keio University, and the University of Tokyo investigated audio-tactile multisensory integration near the body using touch detection with task-irrelevant approaching and receding sounds in all directions: front, rear, left, and right. They found that the tactile stimulus was detected faster near the body space than far from it when a sound approached from any direction. Thus, peripersonal representations exist with approaching sound, irrespective of direction.

Full text: Multisensory facilitation near the body in all directions
TUT website: Press release