Temporal and spectral audiotactile interactions in musicians.

ABSTRACT

Previous investigations have revealed that the complex sensory exposure of musical training alters audiovisual interactions. As of yet, there has been little evidence on the effects of musical training on audiotactile interactions at a behavioural level. Here, we tested audiotactile interaction in musicians using the audiotactile illusory flash and the parchment-skin illusion. Significant differences were only found between musicians and non-musicians for the audiotactile illusory flash. Both groups had similar task-relevant unisensory abilities, but unlike non-musicians, the number of auditory stimulations did not have a statistically important influence on the number of perceived tactile stimulations for musicians. Musicians and non-musicians similarly perceived the parchment-skin illusion. Spectral alterations of self-generated palmar sounds similarly altered the perception of wetness and dryness for both groups. These results suggest that musical training does not seem to alter multisensory interactions at large. The specificity of the sensory enhancement suggests that musical training specifically alters processes underlying the interaction of temporal audiotactile stimuli and not the global interaction between these modalities. These results are consistent with previous unisensory and multisensory investigations on sensory abilities related to audiotactile processing in musicians.