title: Effects of the audiovisual conflict on auditory early processes.
abstract: Auditory alarm misperception is one of the critical events that lead aircraft pilots to an erroneous flying decision. The rarity of these alarms associated with their possible unreliability may play a role in this misperception. In order to investigate this hypothesis, we manipulated both audiovisual conflict and sound rarity in a simplified landing task. Behavioral data and event related potentials (ERPs) of thirteen healthy participants were analyzed. We found that the presentation of a rare auditory signal (i.e., an alarm), incongruent with visual information, led to a smaller amplitude of the auditory N100 (i.e., less negative) compared to the condition in which both signals were congruent. Moreover, the incongruity between the visual information and the rare sound did not significantly affect reaction times, suggesting that the rare sound was neglected. We propose that the lower N100 amplitude reflects an early visual-to-auditory gating that depends on the rarity of the sound. In complex aircraft environments, this early effect might be partly responsible for auditory alarm insensitivity. Our results provide a new basis for future aeronautic studies and the development of countermeasures.
authors.affiliation: INSERM, UMRS 825, Université de Toulouse, UPS, CHU Purpan, Pavillon Baudot, 31024 Toulouse cedex 3, France. s.scannella@isae.fr
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Scannella
authors.forename: Mickaël
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Causse
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chauveau
authors.forename: Josette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pastor
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dehais
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D001359:Aviation; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012984:Software; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Audiovisual conflict; Aviation safety; Early gating; N100