Project

Multisensory percpetion of a three-dimensional environment

Code
bof/baf/4y/2024/01/830
Duration
01 January 2024 → 31 December 2025
Funding
Regional and community funding: Special Research Fund
Promotor
Research disciplines
  • Social sciences
    • Psychophysiology
    • Cognitive processes
    • Sensory processes and perception
Keywords
EEG multisensory cognitive psychology perception 3D virtual reality
 
Project description

This project investigates the role of multisensory perception in navigating and understanding three-dimensional (3D) environments. Humans rely on a combination of sensory inputs—such as vision, hearing, touch, and proprioception—to perceive and interact with the spatial world. The project aims to explore how these senses integrate and influence one another in constructing a coherent representation of a 3D environment.

The project will employ a series of behavioral experiments and virtual reality (VR) simulations to analyze participants’ perception of 3D spaces under various sensory conditions. By manipulating the availability and reliability of visual, auditory, and tactile cues, we seek to understand how individuals compensate for the absence or alteration of one sensory modality through others. Additionally, we will examine how attention and cognitive factors, such as prior experience and expectations, modulate this multisensory integration.

A core objective of the project is to map the neural mechanisms underlying multisensory processing. Electroencephalography (EEG) will be used to monitor brain activity in real-time as participants engage in tasks requiring multisensory integration. EEG will help identify temporal patterns of brainwave activity and assess the dynamic interactions between sensory inputs, with a focus on regions such as the superior colliculus, posterior parietal cortex, and temporal lobe. Insights gained from this research can have applications in fields such as virtual reality design, rehabilitation for sensory impairments, and improving navigation systems for individuals with sensory deficits. Ultimately, the project seeks to deepen our understanding of how the brain combines sensory information to construct a dynamic and adaptable perception of the 3D world.