title: Spatial auditory attention is modulated by tactile priming.
abstract: Previous studies have shown that cross-modal processing affects perception at a variety of neuronal levels. In this study, event-related brain responses were recorded via whole-head magnetoencephalography (MEG). Spatial auditory attention was directed via tactile pre-cues (primes) to one of four locations in the peripersonal space (left and right hand versus face). Auditory stimuli were white noise bursts, convoluted with head-related transfer functions, which ensured spatial perception of the four locations. Tactile primes (200-300 ms prior to acoustic onset) were applied randomly to one of these locations. Attentional load was controlled by three different visual distraction tasks. The auditory P50m (about 50 ms after stimulus onset) showed a significant "proximity" effect (larger responses to face stimulation as well as a "contralaterality" effect between side of stimulation and hemisphere). The tactile primes essentially reduced both the P50m and N100m components. However, facial tactile pre-stimulation yielded an enhanced ipsilateral N100m. These results show that earlier responses are mainly governed by exogenous stimulus properties whereas cross-sensory interaction is spatially selective at a later (endogenous) processing stage.
authors.affiliation: MEG Center, Center for Neurology, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Str. 47, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Menning
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ackermann
authors.forename: Ingo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hertrich
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mathiak
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D003463:Cues; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology; D005246:Feedback / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D008297:Male; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013017:Sound Localization / Q000502:physiology*; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology*
references.citation: Neuroreport. 2002 Dec 3;13(17):2209-12
references.pmid: 12488798
references.citation: Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1980 Aug;49(3-4):277-90
references.pmid: 6158404
references.citation: Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 2000 Sep;10(1-2):77-83
references.pmid: 10978694
references.citation: Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 2003 Feb;15(3):308-23
references.pmid: 12527104
references.citation: Eur J Neurosci. 2002 Dec;16(11):2207-13
references.pmid: 12473088
references.citation: Exp Brain Res. 2003 Mar;149(1):62-74
references.pmid: 12592504
references.citation: J Cogn Neurosci. 2002 Feb 15;14(2):254-71
references.pmid: 11970790
references.citation: Curr Biol. 1999 May 20;9(10):R361-3
references.pmid: 10339417
references.citation: Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1991 Sep;79(3):170-91
references.pmid: 1714809
references.citation: Neurosci Lett. 2000 Nov 3;293(3):187-90
references.pmid: 11036192
references.citation: Can J Psychol. 1981 Jun;35(2):159-74
references.pmid: 7248849
references.citation: Neuroreport. 2001 Jun 13;12(8):1683-7
references.pmid: 11409739
references.citation: Nature. 1999 Feb 4;397(6718):428-30
references.pmid: 9989407
references.citation: Neuropsychologia. 2002;40(6):585-93
references.pmid: 11792400
references.citation: J Acoust Soc Am. 1999 Dec;106(6):3589-602
references.pmid: 10615699
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2001 Nov 15;21(22):8886-94
references.pmid: 11698600
references.citation: J Acoust Soc Am. 2002 Nov;112(5 Pt 1):2053-64
references.pmid: 12430817
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2003 Aug 20;23(20):7510-5
references.pmid: 12930789
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2003 Jan;18(1):58-66
references.pmid: 12507443
references.citation: Science. 2000 Aug 18;289(5482):1206-8
references.pmid: 10947990
references.citation: Psychophysiology. 1998 Nov;35(6):755-9
references.pmid: 9844437
references.citation: Nat Neurosci. 2002 Sep;5(9):905-9
references.pmid: 12195426
references.citation: J Cogn Neurosci. 1999 Sep;11(5):473-90
references.pmid: 10511637
references.citation: Neuroreport. 2003 Mar 3;14(3):307-11
references.pmid: 12634473
references.citation: Nat Neurosci. 2000 Oct;3(10):965-6
references.pmid: 11017161
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2002 Mar;15(3):509-22
references.pmid: 11848694