Salient Sounds VR

Salient Sounds in Virtual Environments

map-marker.pngWestern Interdisciplinary Research Building (WIRB)

Emotional stimuli, such as hearing a person in distress or joyous laughter, are not only perceived more rapidly and vividly compared to neutral stimuli, but may also enhance our sensory experiences. This study explores how emotionally charged sounds impact our spatial abilities. We are interested in how activation of emotion and attention systems may enhance our ability to locate where emotional sounds are coming from, compared to everyday noises. 


18 to 45 years old

Right handed

Healthy volunteers with normal vision and hearing (glasses / contacts okay)

Who can participate in this study?

  • Adults ages 18-45.
  • Right-handed
  • Normal or corrected to normal vision.
  • No hearing impairments.
  • No history of stroke or siezures.

What is involved?

This study involves sitting in the centre of a special room called an "audiodome" containing dozens of speakers. Participants will be played a variety of sounds, ranging from everyday noises to emotional sounds, from different locations varying both horizontally and vertically. Participants will be asked to point to the location that the sound came from. The study takes about 1.5 hours to complete. 

Principal Investigator & Posting Dates

Principal Investigator: Derek Mitchell
Study posted on: August 1, 2024
Recruitment open until: August 1st, 2025

Who can I contact to learn more about this study?

For more information about this study please contact:

 Derek Mitchell: dmitch8@uwo.ca 

 

Join our Registry to Participate in More Studies!