Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41168236›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2025

Auditory and vibrotactile interactions in perception of timbre acoustic features.

Loonan Chauvette, Anne Sophie Grenier, Philippe Albouy, Emily Coffey, Robert Zatorre, Andréanne Sharp

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Loonan ChauvetteCERVO Brain Research Centre Université Laval, G1E 1T2, Quebec City, Canada. loonan.chauvette@cervo.ulaval.ca.
Anne Sophie GrenierCERVO Brain Research Centre Université Laval, G1E 1T2, Quebec City, Canada.
Philippe AlbouyCERVO Brain Research Centre Université Laval, G1E 1T2, Quebec City, Canada.
Emily CoffeyConcordia University, Montreal, H3G 1M8, Canada.
Robert ZatorreMontreal Neurological Institute McGill University, Montreal, H3A 2B4, Canada.
Andréanne SharpCERVO Brain Research Centre Université Laval, G1E 1T2, Quebec City, Canada.

Funding

Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music (CRBLM) 2018-RS-203287Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ) 314016Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Santé 312324Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada 589475Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) RGPIN-2023-05223Quebec Bio-Imaging Network (RBIQ) 35450
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Recently, there has been increasing interest in developing auditory-to-vibrotactile sensory devices. However, the potential of these technologies is constrained by our limited understanding of which features of complex sounds can be perceived through vibrations. The present study aimed to investigate the vibrotactile perception of acoustic features related to timbre, an essential component to identify environmental, speech and musical sounds. Discrimination thresholds were measured for six features: three spectral (number of harmonics, harmonic roll-off ratio, even-harmonic attenuation) and three temporal (attack time, amplitude modulation depth and amplitude modulation frequency) using auditory, vibrotactile and combined auditory + vibrotactile stimulation in 31 adult humans with normal tactile and auditory sensitivity. Result revealed that all spectral and temporal features can be reliably discriminated via vibrotactile stimulation only. However, for spectral features, vibrotactile thresholds were significantly higher (i.e., worse) than auditory thresholds whereas, for temporal features, only vibrotactile amplitude modulation frequency was significantly higher. With simultaneous auditory and tactile presentation, thresholds significantly improved for attack time and amplitude modulation depth, but not for any of the spectral acoustic features. These results suggest that vibrotactile temporal cues have a more straightforward potential for assisting auditory perception, while vibrotactile spectral cues may require specialized signal processing schemes.

Indexed as

Auditory PerceptionTouch PerceptionAcousticsAcoustic StimulationAdultAuditory ThresholdFemaleHumansMaleTouchVibrationYoung AdultAssistive technologyAuditionMultimodal perceptionSensory substitutionTimbreVibrotactile

Identifiers

PMID41168236
PMCPMC12575840

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.