Browsing by Author "Danaher, Jaclyn"

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    Audiovisual integration in noise by children and adults
    (Elsevier,, 2010) Barutchu, Ayla; Danaher, Jaclyn; Crewther, Sheila; Innes-Brown, Hamish; Shivdasani, Mohit; Paolini, Antonio
    The aim of this study was to investigate the development of multisensory facilitation in primary school age children under conditions of auditory noise. Motor reaction times and accuracy were recorded from 8-year-olds, 10-year-olds and adults during an auditory, a visual, and an audiovisual detection task. Auditory signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of 30, 22, 12 and 9 dB across the different age groups were compared. Multisensory facilitation was greater in adults than in children, though performance for all age-groups was affected by the presence of background noise. It is posited that changes in multisensory facilitation with increased auditory noise may be due to changes in attention bias.
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    The relationship between multisensory integration and IQ in children
    (American Psychological Association, 2010-12-13) Barutchu, Ayla; Crewther, Sheila; Fifer, Joanne; Shivdasani, Mohit; Innes-Brown, Hamish; Toohey, Sarah; Danaher, Jaclyn; Paolini, Antonio
    It is well accepted that multisensory integration has a facilitative effect on perceptual and motor processes, evolutionarily enhancing the chance of survival of many species, including humans. Yet, there is a limited understanding of the relationship between multisensory processes, environmental noise and children’s cognitive abilities. Thus, this study investigated the relationship between multisensory integration, auditory background noise and the general intellectual abilities of school age children (N = 88, M age = 9 years, 7 months) using a simple audiovisual detection paradigm. We provide evidence that children with enhanced multisensory integration in quiet and noisy conditions are likely to score above average on the full-scale Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV). Conversely, ~ 45% of tested children, with relatively low verbal and non-verbal intellectual abilities, showed reduced multisensory integration in either quiet or noise. Interestingly, ~ 20% of children showed improved multisensory integration abilities in the presence of auditory background noise. The findings of the present study suggest that stable and consistent multisensory integration in quiet and noisy environments is associated with the development of optimal general intellectual abilities. Further theoretical implications are discussed.