Generalisation to novel exemplars of learned shape categories based on visual and auditory spatial cues does not benefit from multisensory information.

ABSTRACT: Although the integration of information across multiple senses can enhance object representations in memory, how multisensory information affects the formation of categories is uncertain. In particular, it is unclear to what extent categories formed from multisensory information benefit object recognition over unisensory inputs. Two experiments investigated the categorisation of novel auditory and visual objects, with categories defined by spatial similarity, and tested generalisation to novel exemplars. Participants learned to categorise exemplars based on visual-only (geometric shape), auditory-only (spatially defined soundscape) or audio-visual spatial cues. Categorisation to learned as well as novel exemplars was then tested under the same sensory learning conditions. For all learning

SUBMITTER: O'Dowd A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11836203 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature