The Role of the Posterior Superior Temporal Sulcus in Audiovisual Processing

In this study we investigate previous claims that a region in the left posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) is more activated by audiovisual than unimodal processing. First, we compare audiovisual to visual–visual and auditory–auditory conceptual matching using auditory or visual object names t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. 1991) N.Y. 1991), 2008-10, Vol.18 (10), p.2439-2449
Main Authors: Hocking, Julia, Price, Cathy J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acoustic Stimulation
Adult
amodal
Analysis of Variance
audiovisual binding
Auditory Cortex - physiology
Auditory Perception - physiology
conceptual integration
congruency
crossmodal
Female
Functional Laterality - physiology
Humans
Male
Phonetics
Photic Stimulation
Reaction Time - physiology
Visual Cortex - physiology
Visual Perception - physiology
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Summary:In this study we investigate previous claims that a region in the left posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) is more activated by audiovisual than unimodal processing. First, we compare audiovisual to visual–visual and auditory–auditory conceptual matching using auditory or visual object names that are paired with pictures of objects or their environmental sounds. Second, we compare congruent and incongruent audiovisual trials when presentation is simultaneous or sequential. Third, we compare audiovisual stimuli that are either verbal (auditory and visual words) or nonverbal (pictures of objects and their associated sounds). The results demonstrate that, when task, attention, and stimuli are controlled, pSTS activation for audiovisual conceptual matching is 1) identical to that observed for intramodal conceptual matching, 2) greater for incongruent than congruent trials when auditory and visual stimuli are simultaneously presented, and 3) identical for verbal and nonverbal stimuli. These results are not consistent with previous claims that pSTS activation reflects the active formation of an integrated audiovisual representation. After a discussion of the stimulus and task factors that modulate activation, we conclude that, when stimulus input, task, and attention are controlled, pSTS is part of a distributed set of regions involved in conceptual matching, irrespective of whether the stimuli are audiovisual, auditory–auditory or visual–visual.
ISSN:1047-3211
1460-2199
DOI:10.1093/cercor/bhn007