Scientific American article Summary

The Scientific American article “When the Eyes Play Ticks on the Ears” by Nikhil Swaminathan talks about the coupling of visual and auditory information in order to provide us with an integrated message. It specifically attributes the neurons of a structure called the “inferior collicus region” located in the midbrain of being responsible for “fooling” us when it comes to thrown voices. The inferior collicus region contains neurons that respond to both visual and auditory stimuli. However, it is also essential that both types of stimuli are like one another in order for them to be encoded similarly.
Swaminathan goes on to delineate an experiment carried out by Jennifer Groh and her colleagues at Duke university to substantiate this claim. The researchers used monkeys to analyze the response of approximately 180 neurons in the inferior collicus region through the placing of electrodes in the animals’ brains. The monkeys were placed in a dark chamber and the responses of their neurons to a light-emitting diode (LED) being switched on just before a “white noise” was played were assessed. It was determined that during the LED stimulus, the neurons in the inferior collicus region were activated. However, when the white noise was played, two out of three monkeys also indicated activity in the auditory region. These results imply a significant relationship or interaction between sensory pathways which can even be designated as being automatic.
I chose this article because it signifies the important relationship between the perception of an auditory stimulus and that of a visual stimulus. I wear glasses and I have noticed that my hearing tends to be less accurate during the times that I do not have my glasses on. This article helped me understand the significant influence that both forms of perception have on each other.

* Link to article: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=when-the-eyes-play-tricks

* An example of the relationship between vision and hearing can be seen during the learning of a language. Here is a link deliniating this relationship: http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED003609&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED003609