Visual landmarks calibrate auditory space across eye movements

Abstract

AbstractVisual objects that are present both before and after eye movements can act as landmarks, aiding localization of other visual stimuli. We investigated whether visual landmarks would also influence auditory localization – despite participants’ head position remaining unchanged. Participants made eye-movements from central fixation to a peripheral visual landmark, which either remained stationary or was covertly displaced. Following the movement, participants judged whether a stimulus (auditory or visual) was shifted in location relative to before the movement. Visual localization estimates shifted along with the landmark, although the landmark displacement itself went unnoticed. Interestingly, auditory localization estimates were also displaced. Thus, despite identical auditory input reaching the ears, two auditory stimuli originating from the same position were perceived as spatially distinct when the visual landmark moved. These results are consistent with the idea that auditory spatial information is encoded within an eye-centered reference frame and subject to spatial recalibration by visual landmarks.HighlightsVisual landmarks affect stimulus localization across eye movementsWe show this also for auditory stimuli, even when the head remains stableDue to a visual landmark displacement, identical auditory stimuli are perceived as shiftedThis suggests that auditory space is calibrated on eye-centered maps across saccades