Auditory influence on tactile perception changes with age

Abstract

Characteristics of auditory interaction with vision have been extensively studied. However, auditory system integration with other sensory modalities, such as the tactile system, lacks such thorough investigations. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of age on audiotactile integration in humans. Thirty-one participants between the ages of 20 and 65 were divided into three groups according to their age. Audiotactile integration was assessed using the "auditory flash illusion" in which 1, 2, 3, or 4 tactile stimuli were accompanied with 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 auditory stimuli. Participants were asked to ignore auditory stimulations and report the number of tactile stimulations perceived. All participants were tested with task relevant auditory and tactile stimuli as a control measures and were shown to have similar abilities. However, groups differed during the experimental conditions. The youngest group reported a greater number of tactile stimuli than actually presented during the illusory experimental conditions. Participants in the middle and older age groups did not report this illusory tactile perception. These results suggest that age reduces predisposition to audiotactile integration. These results are consistent with developmental studies for multisensory integration in other sensory modalities. © 2013 Acoustical Society of America.