Audio–Visual Fission Illusion and Individual Alpha Frequency: Perspective on Buergers and Noppeney (2022)
Yasuki Noguchi
Abstract
Integrating visual and auditory information is an important ability in various cognitive processes, although its neural mechanisms remain unclear. Several studies indicated a close relationship between one's temporal binding window (TBW) for audio-visual interaction and their alpha rhythm in the brain (individual alpha frequency or IAF). A recent study by Buergers and Noppeney [Buergers, S., & Noppeney, U. The role of alpha oscillations in temporal binding within and across the senses. Nature Human Behaviour, 6, 732-742, 2022], however, challenged this view using a new approach to analyze behavioral data. Conforming to the same procedures by Buergers and Noppeney, here, I analyzed the data of my previous study and examined a relationship between TBW and IAF. In contrast to Buergers and Noppeney, a significant correlation was found between occipital IAF and a new behavioral measure of TBW. Some possibilities that caused these opposing results, such as a variability of "alpha band" across studies and a large inter-individual difference in magnitude of the fission illusion, are discussed.