Principles of Multisensory Behavior
Principles of Multisensory Behavior
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DOI：
10.1523/jneurosci.4678-12.2013
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发表时间：
2013-04-24
影响因子：
5.3
通讯作者：
Mamassian, Pascal
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Otto, Thomas U.;Dassy, Brice;Mamassian, Pascal
多感官信号的组合使用通常是有益的。根据猫上丘神经元的记录，提出了描述多感觉信号有效性的三个基本规则：当信号出现在同一位置时(“空间规则”)，当信号同时出现时(“时间规则”)，当信号相当弱时(“反向有效性原理”)，多感觉信号相对于单感觉信号的增强作用最大。这些规则也被认为与行为测量所观察到的多感官益处有关，但它们能最好地捕捉这些益处吗？为了揭示多感觉行为的益处，我们在这里研究了人类的经典冗余信号效应(RSE；即与单感觉条件相比，多感觉条件下反应时间的加速)。基于概率求和的理论考虑，我们推导出两个可供选择的原理来解释这一效应。首先，“一致有效性原则”指出，当相应的单一感觉条件下的行为表现相似时，多感觉行为的益处(这里是反应时间的加速)最大。其次，“可变性规则”指出，当在相应的单一感觉条件下的表现不可靠时，收益最大。然后，我们在两个实验中测试了这些预测，在这两个实验中，我们操纵了不同视听信号的相对起始点和体力。我们的结果基于对响应时间分布的系统分析，表明RSE很好地遵循了这些原则，从而提供了令人信服的证据，支持将概率求和作为潜在的组合规则。
The combined use of multisensory signals is often beneficial. Based on neuronal recordings in the superior colliculus of cats, three basic rules were formulated to describe the effectiveness of multisensory signals: the enhancement of neuronal responses to multisensory compared with unisensory signals is largest when signals occur at the same location ("spatial rule"), when signals are presented at the same time ("temporal rule"), and when signals are rather weak ("principle of inverse effectiveness"). These rules are also considered with respect to multisensory benefits as observed with behavioral measures, but do they capture these benefits best? To uncover the principles that rule benefits in multisensory behavior, we here investigated the classical redundant signal effect (RSE; i.e., the speedup of response times in multisensory compared with unisensory conditions) in humans. Based on theoretical considerations using probability summation, we derived two alternative principles to explain the effect. First, the "principle of congruent effectiveness" states that the benefit in multisensory behavior (here the speedup of response times) is largest when behavioral performance in corresponding unisensory conditions is similar. Second, the "variability rule" states that the benefit is largest when performance in corresponding unisensory conditions is unreliable. We then tested these predictions in two experiments, in which we manipulated the relative onset and the physical strength of distinct audiovisual signals. Our results, which are based on a systematic analysis of response time distributions, show that the RSE follows these principles very well, thereby providing compelling evidence in favor of probability summation as the underlying combination rule.