Age differences in visual-auditory self-motion perception during a simulated driving task

eRamkhalawansingh, Robert; eRamkhalawansingh, Robert; eKeshavarz, Behrang; eHaycock, Bruce; eShahab, Saba; eCampos, Jennifer; eCampos, Jennifer · 2016 · DOAJ

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00595

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Summary

This study investigates whether age-related enhancements in multisensory integration, previously observed in simple stimulus detection tasks, generalize to complex, dynamic self-motion perception during driving. While prior research indicates that older adults benefit more from congruent visual-auditory inputs than younger adults, it remains unclear if this pattern holds for continuous sensory cues encountered in real-world mobility tasks. The authors hypothesized that older adults would exhibit proportionally greater improvements in speed maintenance when auditory cues were added to visual motion cues compared to younger adults. The researchers employed a simulated driving paradigm using StreetLab, an immersive virtual reality laboratory. Participants included older adults (65+ years) and younger adults (18–35 years), randomly assigned to either a visual-only condition or a visual-plus-auditory condition. In the visual-only condition, participants relied solely on optic flow to maintain a target speed of 80 km/h. In the combined condition, congruent auditory cues (engine, tire, and wind sounds) scaled with vehicle speed were added. Participants completed five driving courses on rural roads with straight and curved segments. Performance metrics included mean speed, standard deviation of speed (variability), and lateral control (root mean squared error). Simulator sickness and vection strength were also monitored to ensure data validity. Results demonstrated that the presence of auditory cues affected age groups differently. Both older and younger adults showed reduced speed variability when auditory cues were present compared to visual-only conditions. However, older adults exhibited a proportionally greater reduction in speed variability under combined sensory conditions, supporting the hypothesis of heightened multisensory integration in aging. Specifically, older adults in the visual-only condition maintained significantly higher speed variability than those in the visual-plus-auditory condition, whereas younger adults showed no significant difference between conditions. Regarding mean speed, older adults drove closer to the 80 km/h target in the combined condition, while younger adults consistently overshot the target regardless of sensory input. Lane-keeping performance, measured by lateral control, showed no significant differences between age groups or sensory conditions. These findings provide the first evidence that age differences in multisensory integration extend from simple laboratory tasks to complex, dynamic self-motion perception. The results suggest that older adults rely more heavily on auditory cues to stabilize speed perception during driving, potentially compensating for age-related declines in visual processing or attention. This has implications for understanding older driver behavior and designing vehicle interfaces that leverage multisensory integration to enhance safety and performance in aging populations.

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Topics

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• age related perceptual decline
• multimodal feedback
• multisensory crossmodal
• sensory abilities