{"id":3581,"date":"2021-07-08T14:18:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-08T14:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/?p=3581"},"modified":"2024-01-09T17:17:02","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T17:17:02","slug":"publication-scientifique-sur-lintegration-audiovisuelle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/publication-scientifique-sur-lintegration-audiovisuelle\/","title":{"rendered":"New scientific article on audiovisual integration"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The influence of visual information on speech perception is well known. For example, when we are in a noisy environment, lipreading makes it easier to understand speech.<\/strong><\/p>

In this context, our brain combines the auditory and visual information related to speech, which corresponds to the phenomenon of audiovisual integration. A concrete example of this phenomenon is the McGurk effect<\/a>.<\/p>

Our laboratory\u2019s director, Pascale Tremblay, along with her French collaborators Marc Sato, Anahita Basirat, Serge Pinto and carried out a research project in which they studied this phenomenon. More specifically, they studied the impact of different types of visual cues on the ability to perceive speech, and examined whether the process of audiovisual integration changes with age.<\/p>

Good news for the team: the scientific article presenting the results of this study has just been accepted for publication in the journal\u00a0Neuropsychologia<\/em>! We are taking this opportunity to provide you with a summary of the study and its results.\u00a0<\/p>

In the study, 34 people (17 young adults between 20 and 42 years old, as well as 17 older adults between 60 and 73 years old), undertook a speech perception test during which syllables (pa, ta or ka) were presented to them, one after the other. Syllables were presented in three sensory modalities: auditory only, visual only (video of a person pronouncing the syllable, but without sound), or audiovisual (combined audio and video), as shown in Figure\u00a01.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Figure\u00a01.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Illustration of the three syllable presentation modalities during the speech perception test.\u00a0<\/p>

The participants had to indicate which of the three syllables had been presented by pressing a button. Hints were provided to the participants on a portion of the trials. For example, a written syllable could appear onscreen for a short period of time, which indicated what syllable was played. The participant\u2019s performance on the test was measured. The participants\u2019 neurophysiological responses related to the perception of speech (and more specifically, the P1-N1-P2 complex<\/a>) were also measured using electroencephalography<\/a>, by means of electrodes placed on the scalp.<\/p>

Here is a summary of the main results:<\/p>