Electrophysiological responses of audiovisual integration from infancy to adulthood

Vannasing, Phetsamone;Dionne-Dostie, Emmanuelle;Tremblay, Julie;Paquette, Natacha;Gallagher, Anne;et.al.
(2024) Brain and Cognition — Vol. 178, p. 106180 [1-15] (2024)

Files

2024_Vannasing_Brain_Cogn.pdf
  • Open Access
  • Adobe PDF
  • 9.82 MB
  • https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Details

Authors
  • Vannasing, Phetsamone
    Author
  • Dionne-Dostie, Emmanuelle
    Author
  • Tremblay, Julieorcid-logo
    Author
  • Paquette, Natacha
    Author
  • Author
  • Gallagher, Anne
    Author
Show more
Abstract
Our ability to merge information from different senses into a unified percept is a crucial perceptual process for efficient interaction with our multisensory environment. Yet, the developmental process underlying how the brain implements multisensory integration (MSI) remains poorly known. This cross-sectional study aims to characterize the developmental patterns of audiovisual events in 131 individuals aged from 3 months to 30 years. Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded during a passive task, including simple auditory, visual, and audiovisual stimuli. In addition to examining age-related variations in MSI responses, we investigated Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) linked with auditory and visual stimulation alone. This was done to depict the typical developmental trajectory of unisensory processing from infancy to adulthood within our sample and to contextualize the maturation effects of MSI in relation to unisensory development. Comparing the neural response to audiovisual stimuli to the sum of the unisensory responses revealed signs of MSI in the ERPs, more specifically between the P2 and N2 components (P2 effect). Furthermore, adult-like MSI responses emerge relatively late in the development, around 8 years old. The automatic integration of simple audiovisual stimuli is a long developmental process that emerges during childhood and continues to mature during adolescence with ERP latencies decreasing with age.
Affiliations

Citations

Vannasing, P., Dionne-Dostie, E., Tremblay, J., Paquette, N., Collignon, O., & Gallagher, A. (2024). Electrophysiological responses of audiovisual integration from infancy to adulthood. Brain and Cognition, 178, 106180 [1-15]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2024.106180 (Original work published 2024)