Department of Psychology, Normal College, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, Shandong, China.
Department of Psychology, Normal College, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, Shandong, China.
Neuropsychologia. 2024 Oct 10;203:108985. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108985. Epub 2024 Aug 29.
Individuals are apt to link various characteristics of an object or event through different sensory experiences. We conducted two electrophysiological experiments to investigate the effects of color-flavor congruency and association strength on visual search efficiency and the in-depth cognitive mechanisms underlying multisensory processes. Participants were prompted with a flavor label and asked to identify the primed flavor from four beverage bottle images. Experiment 1 focused on color-flavor congruency and noted faster searches for congruent targets than incongruent ones. EEG data exhibited smaller N2, larger P3 and LPC, and increased parietal-occipital midline (POM) alpha power for incongruent targets than congruent ones. Experiment 2 manipulated color-flavor association strength within each flavor. Behavioral findings showed that searches for targets with weak association strength took longer than those with strong association strength. Moreover, time-frequency analysis displayed that the former evoked greater frontal midline (FM) theta power and higher alpha power than the latter. Altogether, our research indicated that (1) color expectations based on prior experience can automatically guide people's attentional selection, (2) the color-flavor congruency and association strength impact the visual search efficiency via distinct pathways, and (3) theta and alpha activities make a pivotal role in unraveling multisensory information processing. These findings shed some light on the intricate cognitive processes involved in crossmodal visual search and the underlying neurocognitive dynamics.
个体倾向于通过不同的感官体验将物体或事件的各种特征联系起来。我们进行了两项电生理实验，旨在研究颜色-味道一致性和联想强度对视觉搜索效率的影响，以及多感官过程背后的深入认知机制。参与者会得到一个味道标签，并被要求从四个饮料瓶图像中识别出提示的味道。实验 1 侧重于颜色-味道的一致性，结果表明，与不一致的目标相比，一致的目标搜索速度更快。EEG 数据显示，不一致的目标比一致的目标诱发更小的 N2、更大的 P3 和 LPC，以及更高的顶枕中线（POM）alpha 功率。实验 2 在每个味道内操纵了颜色-味道的联想强度。行为学结果表明，与具有强联想强度的目标相比，具有弱联想强度的目标搜索需要更长的时间。此外，时频分析显示，前者比后者诱发更大的额中线（FM）theta 功率和更高的 alpha 功率。总的来说，我们的研究表明：（1）基于先前经验的颜色预期可以自动引导人们的注意力选择；（2）颜色-味道的一致性和联想强度通过不同的途径影响视觉搜索效率；（3）theta 和 alpha 活动在揭示多感官信息处理中起着关键作用。这些发现为跨模态视觉搜索所涉及的复杂认知过程以及潜在的神经认知动态提供了一些启示。
