1. The impact of a visual spatial frame on real sound-source localization in virtual reality
- Author
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Michela Todeschini, Alessandro Farnè, Mariam Alzhaler, Francesco Pavani, Valérie Gaveau, Romeo Salemme, Mathieu Marx, Gregoire Verdelet, Chiara Valzolgher, Elena Gessa, Eric Truy, Pascal Barone, Pauline Nieto, Integrative, Multisensory, Perception, Action and Cognition Team [Bron] (IMPACT), Centre de recherche en neurosciences de Lyon (CRNL), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Université Jean Monnet [Saint-Étienne] (UJM)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Université Jean Monnet [Saint-Étienne] (UJM)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de recherche cerveau et cognition (CERCO), Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of Trento [Trento], and Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL)
- Subjects
Sound localization ,Computer science ,lcsh:BF1-990 ,Kinematics ,Gaze tracking ,Virtual reality ,050105 experimental psychology ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Active listening ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Computer vision ,Spatial hearing ,Sensory cue ,business.industry ,05 social sciences ,Visual information ,Head movements tracking ,General Medicine ,Acoustic source localization ,Grid ,lcsh:Psychology ,[SCCO.PSYC]Cognitive science/Psychology ,Sound emission ,Sound sources ,Artificial intelligence ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
International audience; Studies on audiovisual interactions in sound localization have primarily focused on the relations between the spatial position of sounds and their perceived visual source, as in the famous ventriloquist effect. Much less work has examined the effects on sound localization of seeing aspects of the visual environment. In this study, we took advantage of an innovative method for the study of spatial hearing-based on real sounds, virtual reality and real-time kinematic tracking-to examine the impact of a minimal visual spatial frame on sound localization. We tested sound localization in normal hearing participants (N = 36) in two visual conditions: a uniform gray scene and a simple visual environment comprising only a grid. In both cases, no visual cues about the sound sources were provided. During and after sound emission, participants were free to move their head and eyes without restriction. We found that the presence of a visual spatial frame improved hand-pointing in elevation. In addition, it determined faster first-gaze movements to sounds. Our findings show that sound localization benefits from the presence of a minimal visual spatial frame and confirm the importance of combining kinematic tracking and virtual reality when aiming to reveal the multisensory and motor contributions to spatial-hearing abilities.
- Published
- 2020