Auditory, Visual, and Tactile Interactions During Active, Dynamic Touch

NCT05943392 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: INTOUCH
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 200
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Even though extensive research on the multisensory integration of auditory and visual stimuli has been carried out, the mechanisms of integration of tactile stimuli with other senses remain less known and understood. Furthermore, the brain mechanisms associated with active and dynamic tactile exploration of a surface have not been extensively studied. In the context of the development of human-computer interaction (HCI) technologies, understanding these mechanisms remains of vital importance for the realization of multisensory devices and to improve the user experience of the general population, but also to benefit the use by clinical populations, e.g., people with visual impairments. The planned experiment aims to study multisensory integration during the active and dynamic tactile exploration of a surface (a natural texture or the screen of a multisensory tactile device). The primary hypotheses are that simultaneous auditory and/or visual stimulation during active tactile exploration of a surface will help participants form a mental representation of the shape or texture they are exploring, and that the recorded brain activity will be compatible with multisensory integration mechanisms at the level of the cerebral cortex. The planned project will include (1) behavioral (psychophysical) experiments, to assess participants' performance in discriminating the spatio-temporal location of tactile, auditory, visual, audio-tactile, audio-visual, and audio-visual-tactile on the screen of a multisensory tactile device and (2) surface electroencephalography (EEG) recording experiments, which will be employed to study the cortical mechanisms of multisensory integration during active and dynamic tactile exploration .

Conditions

Healthy

Keywords

touch; active touch; multisensory integration; vision; audition; EEG; psychophysics

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Threshold of the psychometric function (behavioural)

  Assessment of the threshold of the psychometric function fitted from participants' stimulus-response pairs (psychophysical detection/discrimination tasks) to tactile and/or auditory and/or visual stimulation.

  36 months

• Slope of psychometric function (behavioural)

  Assessment of the slope of the psychometric function fitted from participants' stimulus-response pairs (psychophysical detection/discrimination tasks) to tactile and/or auditory and/or visual stimulation.

  36 months

• EEG (event-related potentials)

  EEG responses to transient tactile and/or auditory and/or visual stimulation.

  36 months

• EEG (frequency tagging)

  EEG responses to sustained/periodic tactile and/or auditory and/or visual stimulation.

  36 months

Study Arms (1)

Healthy volunteers

EEG recordings; behavioural data (psychophysics)

Other: EEG recording; Other: Psychophysics (behavioural experiments)

Interventions

EEG recording OTHER

EEG recording to assess cortical processing of non-painful tactile, auditory, and/or visual stimuli

Healthy volunteers

Psychophysics (behavioural experiments) OTHER

Behavioural experiments to assess perception of non-painful tactile, auditory, and/or visual stimuli

Healthy volunteers

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 65 years

You may qualify if:

• Aged between 18 and 65 years
• Ability to provide informed consent
• Self-reported normal audition, normal somatosensation, and normal or corrected-to-normal vision

You may not qualify if:

• Evidence for a clinically-significant neurological disease on direct questioning
• Medication acting on the peripheral or central nervous system.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Université Catholique de Louvain: lead

Study Sites (1)

UCLouvain

Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, 1200, Belgium

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Psychophysics

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures; Diagnosis; Behavioral Sciences; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities

Central Study Contacts

André Mouraux, PhD

CONTACT

andre.mouraux@uclouvain.be

Giulia Liberati, PhD

CONTACT

giulia.liberati@uclouvain.be

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 22, 2023
• First Posted: July 13, 2023
• Study Start: May 15, 2024
• Primary Completion: March 1, 2026
• Study Completion: March 1, 2026
• Last Updated: March 12, 2025

Record last verified: 2024-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

BE (1)