Eyes and Ears: Cross-Modal Interference of Tinnitus on Visual Processing

Frontiers in Psychology

Qi Chen¹  Zhicheng Li¹  Jintian Cen²  Jing Gu²  Xiangli Zeng²  Shuqi Zhang²  Min Qi²  Ruolei Gu³ 

[1] Center for Studies of Psychological Application and Department of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China;Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China;Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China;Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China;

关键词: tinnitus;    cross-modal interference;    bottom-up;    reaction time;    letter symbol;    emotional face;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01779

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The visual processing capacity of tinnitus patients is worse than normal controls, indicating cross-modal interference. However, the mechanism underlying the tinnitus-modulated visual processing is largely unclear. In order to explore the influence of tinnitus on visual processing, this study used a signal recognition paradigm to observe whether the tinnitus group would display a significantly longer reaction time in processing the letter symbols (Experiment 1) and emotional faces (Experiment 2) than the control group. Signal detection and signal recognition, which reflect the perceptual and conceptual aspects of visual processing respectively, were manipulated individually in different conditions to identify the pattern of the cross-modal interference of tinnitus. The results showed that the tinnitus group required a significantly prolonged reaction time in detecting and recognizing the letter symbols and emotional faces than the control group; meanwhile, no between-group difference was detected in signal encoding. In addition, any gender- and distress-modulated effects of processing were not found, suggesting the universality of the present findings. Finally, follow-up studies would be needed to explore the neural mechanism behind the decline in speed of visual processing. The positive emotional bias in tinnitus patients also needs to be further verified and discussed.Highlights:- The bottom-up visual processing speed is decreased in tinnitus patients.- Tinnitus primarily interferes with the detection of the visual signals in individuals.

【 授权许可】

Unknown