Cross-modal interference-control is reduced in childhood but maintained in aging: A cohort study of stimulus- and response-interference in cross-modal and unimodal Stroop tasks

Flanker interference at both stimulus and response levels decreases with age

When trying to identify the colour of a target, people's performance is impaired by nearby distractors of different colours. It is controversial whether these interference effects originate from competing stimuli, competing responses or from both simultaneously. These interference effects may also differ depending on a person's age. Comparisons between studies show mixed results, while differences in experimental design and data analysis complicate the interpretation. In our study, we manipulated the relative proportions of congruent and incongruent trials with respect to both stimuli and responses. Considering this aspect, we asked whether people resolve stimulus and response interference differently at different ages. 92 children (6-14 years), 25 young adults (20-43 years) and 33 older adults (60-84 years) performed a coloured version of the Eriksen flanker task. Since reaction times and errors were correlated, inverse efficiency scores were used to address speed-accuracy trade-offs between groups. Absolute interference effects were used to measure relationships with age. The results showed first, unexpectedly, that response interference was comparable between stimulus- and response-balanced conditions. Second, performance at all ages was significantly influenced both by competing stimuli and responses. Most importantly, the size of interference effects decreased with age. These findings cast some doubt on the conclusions of previous studies, and raise further questions about how cognitive control is best measured across the lifespan.

The effect of unisensory and multisensory information on lexical decision and free recall in young and older adults

Studies using simple low-level stimuli show that multisensory stimuli lead to greater improvements in processing speed for older adults than young adults. However, there is insufficient evidence to explain how these benefits influence performance for more complex processes such as judgement and memory tasks. This study examined how presenting stimuli in multiple sensory modalities (audio-visual) instead of one (audio-only or visual-only) may help older adults to improve their memory and cognitive processing compared to young adults. Young and older adults completed lexical decision (real word vs. pseudoword judgement) and word recall tasks, either independently, or in combination (dual-task), with and without perceptual noise. Older adults were better able to remember words when encoding independently. In contrast, young adults were better able to remember words when encoding in combination with lexical decisions. Both young and older adults had better word recall in the audio-visual condition compared with the audio-only condition. The findings indicate significant age differences when dealing with multiple tasks during encoding. Crucially, there is no greater multisensory benefit for older adults compared to young adults in more complex processes, rather multisensory stimuli can be useful in enhancing cognitive performance for both young and older adults.

Multisensory processing of emotional cues predicts intrusive memories after virtual reality trauma

Research has shown that high trait anxiety can alter multisensory processing of threat cues (by amplifying integration of angry faces and voices); however, it remains unknown whether differences in multisensory processing play a role in the psychological response to trauma. This study examined the relationship between multisensory emotion processing and intrusive memories over seven days following exposure to an analogue trauma in a sample of 55 healthy young adults. We used an adapted version of the trauma film paradigm, where scenes showing a car accident trauma were presented using virtual reality, rather than a conventional 2D film. Multisensory processing was assessed prior to the trauma simulation using a forced choice emotion recognition paradigm with happy, sad and angry voice-only, face-only, audiovisual congruent (face and voice expressed matching emotions) and audiovisual incongruent expressions (face and voice expressed different emotions). We found that increased accuracy in recognising anger (but not happiness and sadness) in the audiovisual condition relative to the voice- and face-only conditions was associated with more intrusions following VR trauma. Despite previous results linking trait anxiety and intrusion development, no significant influence of trait anxiety on intrusion frequency was observed. Enhanced integration of threat-related information (i.e. angry faces and voices) could lead to overly threatening appraisals of stressful life events and result in greater intrusion development after trauma.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10055-023-00784-1.

Multisensory integration precision is associated with better cognitive performance over time in older adults: A large-scale exploratory study

Age-related sensory decline impacts cognitive performance and exposes individuals to a greater risk of cognitive decline. Integration across the senses also changes with age, yet the link between multisensory perception and cognitive ageing is poorly understood. We explored the relationship between multisensory integration and cognitive function in 2875 adults aged 50 + from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing. Multisensory integration was assessed at several audio-visual temporal asynchronies using the Sound Induced Flash Illusion (SIFI). More precise integration (i.e. less illusion susceptibility with larger temporal asynchronies) was cross-sectionally associated with faster Choice Response Times and Colour Trail Task performance, and fewer errors on the Sustained Attention to Response Task. We then used k-means clustering to identify groups with different 10-year cognitive trajectories on measures available longitudinally; delayed recall, immediate recall and verbal fluency. Across measures, groups with consistently higher performance trajectories had more precise multisensory integration. These findings support broad links between multisensory integration and several cognitive measures, including processing speed, attention and memory, rather than association with any specific subdomain.

Gray matter volume in the right angular gyrus is associated with differential patterns of multisensory integration with aging

Multisensory perception might provide an important marker of brain function in aging. However, the cortical structures supporting multisensory perception in aging are poorly understood. In this study, we compared regional gray matter volume in a group of middle-aged (n = 101; 49-64 years) and older (n = 116; 71-87 years) adults from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Aging using voxel-based morphometry. Participants completed a measure of multisensory integration, the sound-induced flash illusion, and were grouped as per their illusion susceptibility. A significant interaction was observed in the right angular gyrus; in the middle-aged group, larger gray matter volume corresponded to stronger illusion perception while in older adults larger gray matter corresponded to less illusion susceptibility. This interaction remained significant even when controlling for a range of demographic, sensory, cognitive, and health variables. These findings show that multisensory integration is associated with specific structural differences in the aging brain and highlight the angular gyrus as a possible "cross-modal hub" associated with age-related change in multisensory perception.

A bimodal extension of the Eriksen flanker task

The Eriksen flanker task is a traditional conflict paradigm for studying the influence of task-irrelevant information on the processing of task-relevant information. In this task, participants are asked to respond to a visual target item (e.g., a letter) that is flanked by task-irrelevant items (e.g., also letters). Responses are typically faster and more accurate when the task-irrelevant information is response-congruent with the visual target than when it is incongruent. Several researchers have attributed the starting point of this flanker effect to poor selective filtering at a perceptual level (e.g., spotlight models), which subsequently produces response competition at post-perceptual stages. The present study examined whether a flanker-like effect could also be established within a bimodal analog of the flanker task with auditory irrelevant letters and visual target letters, which must be processed along different processing routes. The results of two experiments revealed that a flanker-like effect is also present with bimodal stimuli. In contrast to the unimodal flanker task, however, the effect only emerged when flankers and targets shared the same letter name, but not when they were different letters mapped onto the same response. We conclude that the auditory flankers can influence the time needed to recognize visual targets but do not directly activate their associated responses.

Problems in Audiovisual Filtering for Children with Special Educational Needs

There is pervasive evidence that problems in sensory processing occur across a range of developmental disorders, but their aetiology and clinical significance remain unclear. The present study investigated the relation between sensory processing and literacy skills in children with and without a background of special educational needs (SEN). Twenty-six children aged between 7 and 12 years old, from both regular classes and SEN programmes, participated. Following baseline tests of literacy, fine motor skills and naming speed, two sets of instruments were administered: the carer-assessed Child Sensory Profile-2 and a novel Audiovisual Animal Stroop (AVAS) test. The SEN group showed significantly higher ratings on three Child Sensory Profile-2 quadrants, together with body position ratings. The SEN participants also showed a specific deficit when required to ignore an accompanying incongruent auditory stimulus on the AVAS. Interestingly, AVAS performance correlated significantly with literacy scores and with the sensory profile scores. It is proposed that the children with SEN showed a specific deficit in "filtering out" irrelevant auditory input. The results highlight the importance of including analysis of sensory processes within theoretical and applied approaches to developmental differences and suggest promising new approaches to the understanding, assessment, and support of children with SEN.

Event-Related Brain Potentials Associated With the Olfactory-Visual Stroop Effect and Its Modulation by Olfactory-Induced Emotional States

This study investigated the event-related brain potentials associated with the olfactory-visual cross-modal Stroop effect and its modulation by olfactory-induced and self-reported affective states. Eighteen healthy participants were presented with an olfactory stimulus and the image of a plant, and they had to categorize the olfactory attribute of the image as “aromatic” or “pungent” by pressing the relevant button as quickly as possible. The type of olfactory-visual stimuli (congruent or incongruent) and the valence of the olfactory-induced emotional states (positive or negative) were manipulated following a 2 × 2 factorial design. Interference effects were observed at the behavioral and the electrophysiological levels: response times recorded in the incongruent condition were higher than those observed in the congruent condition; an incongruent minus congruent negative difference component was discovered between 350 and 550 ms after stimulus onset in the negative—but not in the positive—olfactory-induced emotional state condition. This ND350-550 component was interpreted as reflecting the amount of selective attention involved in the olfactory-visual cross-modal Stroop effect. These results are also consistent with a facilitatory effect of positive emotional state on selective attention which could reduce brain potentials associated with the cross-modal interference effect.