The effect of phasic auditory alerting on visual perception
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The effect of phasic auditory alerting on visual perception. / Petersen, Anders; Petersen, Annemarie Hilkjær; Bundesen, Claus; Vangkilde, Signe; Habekost, Thomas.
In: Cognition, Vol. 165, 08.2017, p. 73-81.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The effect of phasic auditory alerting on visual perception
AU - Petersen, Anders
AU - Petersen, Annemarie Hilkjær
AU - Bundesen, Claus
AU - Vangkilde, Signe
AU - Habekost, Thomas
PY - 2017/8
Y1 - 2017/8
N2 - Phasic alertness refers to a short-lived change in the preparatory state of the cognitive system following an alerting signal. In the present study, we examined the effect of phasic auditory alerting on distinct perceptual processes, unconfounded by motor components. We combined an alerting/no-alerting design with a pure accuracy-based single-letter recognition task. Computational modeling based on Bundesen’s Theory of Visual Attention was used to examine the effect of phasic alertness on visual processing speed and threshold of conscious perception. Results show that phasic auditory alertness affects visual perception by increasing the visual processing speed and lowering the threshold of conscious perception (Experiment 1). By manipulating the intensity of the alerting cue, we further observed a positive relationship between alerting intensity and processing speed, which was not seen for the threshold of conscious perception (Experiment 2). This was replicated in a third experiment, in which pupil size was measured as a physiological marker of alertness. Results revealed that the increase in processing speed was accompanied by an increase in pupil size, substantiating the link between alertness and processing speed (Experiment 3). The implications of these results are discussed in relation to a newly developed mathematical model of the relationship between levels of alertness and the speed with which humans process visual information.
AB - Phasic alertness refers to a short-lived change in the preparatory state of the cognitive system following an alerting signal. In the present study, we examined the effect of phasic auditory alerting on distinct perceptual processes, unconfounded by motor components. We combined an alerting/no-alerting design with a pure accuracy-based single-letter recognition task. Computational modeling based on Bundesen’s Theory of Visual Attention was used to examine the effect of phasic alertness on visual processing speed and threshold of conscious perception. Results show that phasic auditory alertness affects visual perception by increasing the visual processing speed and lowering the threshold of conscious perception (Experiment 1). By manipulating the intensity of the alerting cue, we further observed a positive relationship between alerting intensity and processing speed, which was not seen for the threshold of conscious perception (Experiment 2). This was replicated in a third experiment, in which pupil size was measured as a physiological marker of alertness. Results revealed that the increase in processing speed was accompanied by an increase in pupil size, substantiating the link between alertness and processing speed (Experiment 3). The implications of these results are discussed in relation to a newly developed mathematical model of the relationship between levels of alertness and the speed with which humans process visual information.
KW - Faculty of Social Sciences
KW - Phasic alerting
KW - Theory of visual attention
KW - Mathematical modeling
KW - modelingPupillometry
U2 - 10.1016/j.cognition.2017.04.004
DO - 10.1016/j.cognition.2017.04.004
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 28501549
VL - 165
SP - 73
EP - 81
JO - Cognition
JF - Cognition
SN - 0010-0277
ER -
ID: 181451667