Spontaneous head movements support accurate horizontal auditory localization in a virtual visual environment

This study investigates the relationship between auditory localization accuracy in the horizontal plane and the spontaneous translation and rotation of the head in response to an acoustic stimulus from an invisible sound source. Although a number of studies have suggested that localization ability i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPloS one Vol. 17; no. 12; p. e0278705
Main Authors Gulli, Andrea, Fontana, Federico, Orzan, Eva, Aruffo, Alessandro, Muzzi, Enrico
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Public Library of Science 06.12.2022
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects
Accuracy
Acoustics
Analysis
Biology and Life Sciences
Child
Childrens health
Computer and Information Sciences
Computer applications
Directional hearing
Ears & hearing
Engineering and Technology
Experiments
Head
Head movement
Head Movements
Hearing
Helmet mounted displays
Human mechanics
Humans
Influence
Listening
Localization
Maternal & child health
Medicine and Health Sciences
Physical Sciences
Physiological aspects
Research and Analysis Methods
Social Sciences
Sound
Sound Localization
Sound sources
Virtual reality
Visual stimuli
Italy
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Summary:This study investigates the relationship between auditory localization accuracy in the horizontal plane and the spontaneous translation and rotation of the head in response to an acoustic stimulus from an invisible sound source. Although a number of studies have suggested that localization ability improves with head movements, most of them measured the perceived source elevation and front-back disambiguation. We investigated the contribution of head movements to auditory localization in the anterior horizontal field in normal hearing subjects. A virtual reality scenario was used to conceal visual cues during the test through a head mounted display. In this condition, we found that an active search of the sound origin using head movements is not strictly necessary, yet sufficient for achieving greater sound source localization accuracy. This result may have important implications in the clinical assessment and training of adults and children affected by hearing and motor impairments.
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Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0278705