The effect of self-motion perception on horizontal sound localization in front and rear spaces

Abstract

During self-motion, the spatial relationship between objects and the observer changes from moment to moment. In such a situation, self-motion information is considered to be one of useful cues to accurately localize sound source positions. In the present study, we conducted two experiments to investigate the effects of visually-induced self-motion perception (vection) on sound localization in front and rear hemispheres. As a result, we found that the perceived position of a sound in the rear hemisphere was shifted in a few degrees in the direction of perceived self-motion. In the front hemisphere, however, no effect of self-motion information was observed. These results suggest space-dependent contribution of self-motion information to auditory spatial perception.