Editorial: The Role of Sound in Motor Perception and Execution

Abstract

“Perception and action” is one of the main research fields in which experimental psychologists work together with experts of other disciplines, such as medicine, physiotherapy, engineering, and sport. Traditionally, researchers have mainly focused on visual perception and on its influences on motor processes, while less attention has been dedicated to the role of auditory perception. However, in the last decade, the interest towards the influence of sounds on both action perception and motor execution has increased significantly. On the one hand, researchers have been interested in determining how humans can represent motor actions through the sounds associated with movements, as well as which auditory cues are salient for recognizing and discriminating different features of movement [1-10]. On the other hand, researchers have studied how auditory stimuli affect the production of complex movements in different domains [11-21]. The general aim of this special issue is to provide an overview of the relationship between sounds and movements by addressing theoretical, methodological, and applied issues from a multidisciplinary perspective.