Multisensory Integration in the Injured Brain
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating the neural mechanisms of audio-visual integration in individuals with visual deficits.
IRAS ID
307066
Contact name
Arash Sahraie
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Aberdeen
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 6 months, 30 days
Research summary
Perception of the natural world relies on combining information from multiple sources to achieve complete representations of natural events. It has been established that information from one sensory modality can influence processing information from another modality, for example, there is evidence that simple visual information is processed more quickly and accurately when presented in combination with auditory information. If confirmed, this can be useful in rehabilitating individuals with sensory deficits, as information obtained from an intact sensory system can support the processing of information from another, weaker, sensory system. However, the neural mechanisms behind sensory integration are not yet well understood and thus rehabilitation methods have not been optimised to fully utilise this phenomenon.
This study will use psychophysical and computational methods to investigate the neural basis of how information from different sensory sources (specifically auditory and visual) is integrated within the human brain, and how these processes interact with and lead to the formation of conscious experience. We are also interested in how multisensory integration may be utilised in developing improved and more effective rehabilitation strategies for patients with sensory deficits developed due to a stroke or traumatic brain injury.
We are looking to recruit participants with either visual or auditory deficits due to acquired brain injury, specifically lesions in either the primary visual or auditory brain areas. If lesions have not been localised prior to the experiment, participants will be asked to undergo MRI to establish the location and extend of the brain injury. Participants will be asked to complete standard tests to determine their visual abilities. After this, participants will be asked to complete a computerised task where they respond to simple sensory cues. The expected duration of each experimental session is 2h, and the study takes place at King’s College campus, University of Aberdeen.
REC name
East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 1
REC reference
23/ES/0005
Date of REC Opinion
26 Jan 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion