School of Psychological Sciences, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia.
Dev Psychol. 2011 May;47(3):877-85. doi: 10.1037/a0021903.
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 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, mean 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 IQ of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). Conversely, approximately 45% of tested children, with relatively low verbal and nonverbal intellectual abilities, showed reduced multisensory integration in either quiet or noise. Interestingly, approximately 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.
人们普遍认为，多感官整合对感知和运动过程有促进作用，从进化上提高了许多物种（包括人类）的生存机会。然而，人们对多感官过程、环境噪声与儿童认知能力之间的关系了解有限。因此，本研究使用简单的视听检测范式，调查了多感官整合、听觉背景噪声与学龄儿童（N=88，平均年龄为 9 岁 7 个月）一般智力之间的关系。我们提供的证据表明，在安静和嘈杂环境下多感官整合能力增强的儿童，其在《韦氏儿童智力量表第四版》（WISC-IV）的全量表智商（FSIQ）上的得分可能高于平均水平。相反，大约 45%的受测儿童，其言语和非言语智力能力相对较低，在安静或嘈杂环境下表现出多感官整合能力降低。有趣的是，大约 20%的儿童在听觉背景噪声存在的情况下表现出多感官整合能力的提高。本研究的结果表明，在安静和嘈杂环境下稳定一致的多感官整合与最佳一般智力发展有关。进一步的理论意义将在讨论中阐述。
