Visual evoked potentials (VEP) recorded from the visual cortex of conscious rabbits in chronic experiments were used to study the effects of sound (2000 Hz, 70 dB, 40 msec) on the discrimination of low light intensities (0.3–1 cd/m2). Sounds were delivered with different time delays before and after replacement of one light intensity by another (range –750 to +150 msec). The sound itself did not induce any response. A total of 42 experiments on three rabbits showed that sound had a significant modulatory effect on the discrimination of low light intensities in the range of sound-light intervals from –300 to +50 msec. Sound had the strongest effect going from high light intensities (1 cd/m2) to low (0.3 cd/m2). Analysis of the phases of visual evoked potentials showed that sound had a significant influence on the light response at intervals of –300, –100, –60, –40, –20, 0, +20, and +50 msec. During the P2 phase (120–150 msec from the moment of light stimulus substitution), sound had its greatest influence on substitution of low light intensities both in terms of the number of time intervals (seven) at which the effect of sound was significant (p < 0.05) and in terms of the extent of the effect of sound on the light response. The effects of sound in the P2 phase were almost exclusively facilitatory – by 19–36% compared with responses to light, while the N1 (80–110 msec) and N2 (180–250 msec) phases included 2–3 intervals with significant sound effects, the extent of facilitation of the response to light varying over the range 8–12%. It is suggested that the action of sound on the light response over time is mediated in the visual cortex with some delay due to passage of the sound signal through the auditory cortex, parietal cortex, and superior colliculi.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Benjamins, J. S., van der Smagt, M. J., and Verstraten, F. A., “Matching auditory and visual signals: is sensory modality just another feature?” Perception, 37, No. 6, 848–858 (2008).
Fujisaki, W. and Nishida, S., “A common perceptual temporal limit of binding synchronous inputs across different sensory attributes and modalities,” Proc. Biol. Sci., 277, No. 1692, 2281–2290 (2010).
Jaekl, P. M. and Harris, L. P., “Sounds can affect visual perception mediated primarily by the parvocellular pathway,” Vis. Neurosci., 26, No. 5–6, 477–486 (2009).
Jaekl, P. M. and Harris, L. R., “Auditory-visual temporal integration measured by shifts in perceived temporal location,” Neurosci. Lett., 417, No. 3, 219–224 (2007).
Kauser, C. and Logothetis, N. K., “Do early sensory cortices integrate cross-modal information?” Brain Struct. Funct., 212, No. 2, 121–132 (2007).
Lewald, J. and Guski, R., “Auditory-visual temporal integration as a function of distance: no compensation for sound-transmission time in human perception,” Neurosci. Lett., 357, No. 2, 119–122 (2004).
Lewald, J., Ehrenstein, W. H., and Guski, R., “Spatio-temporal constraints for auditory-visual integration,” Behav. Brain Res., 121, No. 1–2, 69–79 (2001).
Liu, Q., Qiu, J., Chen, A., et al., “The effect of visual reliability on auditory-visual integration: an event-related potential study,” Neuroreport, 18, No. 17, 1861–1865 (2007).
Molholm, S., Ritter, W., Murray, M. M., et al., “Multisensory auditory-visual interactions during early sensory processing in humans: a igh-density electric mapping study,” Brain Res. Cogn. Brain Res., 14, No. 1, 115–128 (2002).
Polyanskii, V. B., Alymkulov, D. E., Evtikhin, D. V., and Chernyshev, B. V., “Sound improves the discrimination of low light intensities in the rabbit visual cortex,” Zh. Vyssh. Nerv. Deyat., 61, No. 4, 1–11 (2011).
Romei, V., Murray, M. M., Cappe, C., and Thut, G., “Preperceptual and stimulus-selective enhancement of low-level human visual cortex excitability by sound,” Curr. Biol., 19, No. 21, 1799–1805 (2009).
Shams L. and Kim, R., “Crossmodal influences on visual perception,” Physics of Life Reviews, 7, No. 3, 269–284 (2010).
Sokolov, E. N., Perception and the Conditioned Reflex. A New View, Training Resource Collection Psikhologiya, Moscow (2003).
Stone, J. V., Hunkin, N. M., Porrill, J., et al., “When is now? Perception of simultaneity,” Proc. Biol. Sci., 268, No. 1462, 31–38 (2001).
Van Wassenhove, V., Grant, K. W., and Poeppel, D., “Temporal window of integration in auditory-visual speech perception,” Neuropsychologia, 45, No. 3, 598–607 (2007).
Wyrwitz, A. M., Chen, N., Li, L., et al., “fMRI of visual system activation in conscious rabbit,” Magn. Reson. Med., 44, No. 3, 474–478 (2000).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Translated from Zhurnal Vysshei Nervnoi Deyatel’nosti imeni I. P. Pavlova, Vol. 64, No. 5, pp. 531–541, September–October, 2014.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Polyanskii, V.B., Alymkulov, D.E., Evtikhin, D.V. et al. Sound Affects the Discrimination of Low Light Intensities in the Rabbit Visual Cortex. Neurosci Behav Physi 46, 241–248 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-016-0224-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-016-0224-y