The effect of sound on visual apparent movement.
Twelve subjects found the longest possible interstimulus interval (ISI) at which they perceived continuous apparent motion of one light instead of partial motion or succession between two lights. In the visual condition, two lights only were presented. In the bimodal conditions, binaurally presented tones were presented synchronously with the lights, and the lights and tones were either spatially congruent (in phase) or incongruent (180 degrees out of phase). Bimodal presentations lowered the upper ISI threshold for the perception of visual apparent motion, and the reduction was greater when the tones and lights were spatially congruent. The threshold reduction may be caused by a perceptual inference about localization of the lights in space or by a change in visual persistence.
D006801:Humans; D009039:Motion Perception; D009903:Optical Illusions; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D012684:Sensory Thresholds; D013016:Sound; D013997:Time Factors