The impact of attention on the temporal window of multisensory integration

` 任何知觉理论都必须解决这样一个基本问题，即心智如何将感官信息结合在一起，形成一个连贯的现实。虽然我们对视觉特征在空间上的结合有很多了解，但对来自不同模态的刺激在时间上的结合知之甚少。不同的感觉系统用不同的潜伏期对输入进行编码，从而产生一个时间上的“整合窗口”，在这个窗口内，多感觉刺激可以被感知为单一的。已知有各种因素会扩大或缩小这一窗口。 在目前的工作中，我们专注于注意力的因素-一个可以显着缩短感官信号影响意识所需时间的因素。 这项建议的核心问题是注意力如何影响一体化窗口期的长短。 提供了感官体验的综合分析。在感知层面，我们使用的任务是利用我们对刺激的意识。在行为层面上，对刺激的明显身体反应进行了检查。在神经水平上，研究了负责行为和感知现象的大脑状态。这些层次之间的综合将提供对我们的大脑如何创造我们所经历的事件的最大理解。 这项工作将对基础研究和应用研究产生影响。 在基础研究中，我们的发现将限制感知、多感觉整合和注意力的模型。 应用研究也将被告知我们的结果，虽然他们不是我们的主要重点。 这些影响包括：开发多感官警报信号;加强远程存在应用;改进视频会议。 在整个研究过程中，多达40名高素质的人员将接受本科（30）和研究生（10）水平的培训。该研究将通过会议记录（10-15）和出版的期刊文章（20-30）传播。

` Any theory of perception must tackle the fundamental problem of how the mind binds together sensory information into a coherent reality. Although a great deal is known about binding of visual features across space, much less is known about binding stimuli from different modalities across time. Different sensory systems encode inputs with different latencies, giving rise to a temporal "window of integration" within which multisensory stimuli may be perceived as unitary. Various factors are known to widen or narrow this window. In the present work, we focus on the factor of attention--a factor which can dramatically shorten the time required for a sensory signal to impact consciousness. The central question of this proposal is how attention may influence the duration of the integration window. An integrated analysis of sensory experience is provided. At a perceptual level, tasks that tap into our conscious awareness of stimuli are used. At a behavioural level, the overt physical responses to stimuli are examined. At the neural level, the brain states responsible for both the behavioural and perceptual phenomena are studied. Synthesis between these levels will provide the greatest understanding of how our brains create the events we experience. This work will have an impact on both basic and applied research. In basic research, our findings will constrain models of perception, multisensory integration, and attention. Applied research will also be informed by our results, although they are not our primary focus. Such impacts include: development of multisensory warning signals; enhancement of tele-presence applications; and the improvement of videoconferencing. Throughout the research, up to 40 highly qualified personnel will be trained at undergraduate (30) and graduate (10) levels. The research will be disseminated through conference proceedings (10-15) and published journal articles (20-30).