Summary: A new study reports that listening to something while looking in a different direction may slow reaction times and increase the effort for auditory attention.

Source: UCL.

Listening to something while looking in a different direction can slow down reaction times while the brain works harder to suppress distractions, finds a new UCL study.

In a study published in Scientific Reports, UCL researchers found that a misalignment between the direction of the eyes and the focus of auditory attention leads to slower reactions and increased listening effort.

“We frequently listen away from where our eyes are directed, such as when driving, or eavesdropping to a conversation at a party. So in this study we asked a simple question: How does the mere direction of gaze, even in the absence of visual information, affect listening?” said the study’s first author, Dr Ulrich Pomper (UCL Ear Institute). “We found that gazing away from what we are listening to is mentally taxing, and has detrimental consequences to performance.”

The study design aimed to re-create a simple everyday listening situation – attempting to follow a single sound from a mixture of several – but within a controlled lab environment. The 19 study participants each sat facing three loudspeakers arranged in front of them in a darkened, soundproof room. They were instructed to follow sounds from one of the loudspeakers while ignoring sounds from the other two loudspeakers. Simultaneously, they were directed to look at either the ‘followed’ loudspeaker or at one of the other (ignored) loudspeakers. A special camera was used to confirm that they were looking in the direction requested. As the participants concentrated, their brain activity was monitored with electroencephalography (EEG).

The researchers found that the participants’ reaction times were slower when they were instructed to look away from the attended loudspeaker and this was also accompanied by an increase in oscillatory neural activity (also known as ‘brain waves’).

Image shows a woman looking to the left.
The researchers found that the participants’ reaction times were slower when they were instructed to look away from the attended loudspeaker and this was also accompanied by an increase in oscillatory neural activity (also known as ‘brain waves’). NeuroscienceNews.com image is adapted from the UCl news release.

“We found that the participants’ brains were working hard to counteract the misalignment between gaze and auditory attention, even though the setup and tasks were very simple,” said senior author Dr Maria Chait (UCL Ear Institute). “It is striking that simply shifting the direction of gaze a few degrees away from a sound source can have such a remarkable effect on brain activity. We think this is because our brains are wired to expect visual gaze direction and auditory attention to be aligned. The intuitive feeling that our auditory attention is independent from gaze is an illusion.”

“While our cohort of young participants exhibited only a relatively small slowing of reaction times, inconsistent gaze might have more severe consequences in older or hearing-impaired listeners and could lead to serious implications for safety when engaged in demanding tasks, like driving,” she said.

About this neuroscience research article

Funding: The research was supported by a European Commission Horizon 2020 grant.

Source: Dr. Vera Weisbecker – UCL
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is adapted from the UCL news release.
Original Research: Full open access research for “The impact of visual gaze direction on auditory object tracking” by Ulrich Pomper & Maria Chait in Scientific Reports. Published online July 5 2017 doi:10.1038/s41598-017-04475-1

Cite This NeuroscienceNews.com Article

[cbtabs][cbtab title=”MLA”]UCL “Gaze Direction Affects Sound Sensitivity.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 5 July 2017.
<https://neurosciencenews.com/sound-sensitivity-gaze-direction-7029/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title=”APA”]UCL (2017, July 5). Gaze Direction Affects Sound Sensitivity. NeuroscienceNew. Retrieved July 5, 2017 from https://neurosciencenews.com/sound-sensitivity-gaze-direction-7029/[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Chicago”]UCL “Gaze Direction Affects Sound Sensitivity.” https://neurosciencenews.com/sound-sensitivity-gaze-direction-7029/ (accessed July 5, 2017).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]


Abstract

The impact of visual gaze direction on auditory object tracking

Subjective experience suggests that we are able to direct our auditory attention independent of our visual gaze, e.g when shadowing a nearby conversation at a cocktail party. But what are the consequences at the behavioural and neural level? While numerous studies have investigated both auditory attention and visual gaze independently, little is known about their interaction during selective listening. In the present EEG study, we manipulated visual gaze independently of auditory attention while participants detected targets presented from one of three loudspeakers. We observed increased response times when gaze was directed away from the locus of auditory attention. Further, we found an increase in occipital alpha-band power contralateral to the direction of gaze, indicative of a suppression of distracting input. Finally, this condition also led to stronger central theta-band power, which correlated with the observed effect in response times, indicative of differences in top-down processing. Our data suggest that a misalignment between gaze and auditory attention both reduce behavioural performance and modulate underlying neural processes. The involvement of central theta-band and occipital alpha-band effects are in line with compensatory neural mechanisms such as increased cognitive control and the suppression of task irrelevant inputs.

“The impact of visual gaze direction on auditory object tracking” by Ulrich Pomper & Maria Chait in Scientific Reports. Published online July 5 2017 doi:10.1038/s41598-017-04475-1

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