Donald Derrik (University of Canterbury) will give an in-person talk at 3:30 pm on Thursday, May 18th at Totem Field Studio (Room 121). See the abstract information below.
Multi-modal integration in speech: Effects and limitations
In our 2009 Nature paper, Bryan Gick and I demonstrated that a puff of air on the skin can change what you hear. Here I will present evidence of the extent and timing for this audio-tactile as well as visual-tactile integration, showing that it has an ecologically valid asynchronous window, much like audio-visual integration. However, this integration is modulated by self-reports of autistic traits, and does not extend to requirements of spacial ecological validity. In addition, testing of integration during continuous speech and open-choice conditions has not shown similar speech perception enhancement, raising questions as to how aero-tactile stimuli integrates into speech perception. I conclude with evidence from time-aligned audio, visual, and schlieren data that shows air-flow will arrive at the skin in a different order from auditory and visual tactile information depending on how far away the perceiver is from the listener. This new data may help resolve the reasons for the effects and limitations of aero-tactile integration in speech perception.
