Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

The eardrum moves when the eyes move: A multisensory effect on the mechanics of hearing

View ORCID ProfileK. G. Gruters, View ORCID ProfileD. L. K. Murphy, D. W. Smith, View ORCID ProfileC. A. Shera, View ORCID ProfileJ. M. Groh
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/156570
K. G. Gruters
*Department of Psychology and Neuroscience; Department of Neurobiology; Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for K. G. Gruters
D. L. K. Murphy
*Department of Psychology and Neuroscience; Department of Neurobiology; Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for D. L. K. Murphy
D. W. Smith
§Program in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
C. A. Shera
‡Caruso Department of Otolaryngology; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for C. A. Shera
J. M. Groh
*Department of Psychology and Neuroscience; Department of Neurobiology; Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for J. M. Groh
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Preview PDF
Loading

ABSTRACT

Interactions between sensory pathways such as the visual and auditory systems are known to occur in the brain, but where they first occur is uncertain. Here we show a novel multimodal interaction evident at the eardrum. Ear canal microphone measurements in humans (n=19 ears in 16 subjects) and monkeys (n=5 ears in 3 subjects) performing a saccadic eye movement task to visual targets indicated that the eardrum moves in conjunction with the eye movement. The eardrum motion was oscillatory and began as early as 10 ms before saccade onset in humans or with saccade onset in monkeys. These eardrum movements, which we dub Eye Movement Related Eardrum Oscillations (EMREOs), occurred in the absence of a sound stimulus. The EMREOs’ amplitude and phase depended on the direction and horizontal amplitude of the saccade. They lasted throughout the saccade and well into subsequent periods of steady fixation. We discuss the possibility that the mechanisms underlying EMREOs create eye movement-related binaural cues that may aid the brain in evaluating the relationship between visual and auditory stimulus locations as the eyes move.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The peripheral hearing system contains several motor mechanisms that allow the brain to modify the auditory transduction process. Movements or tensioning of either the middle-ear muscles or the outer hair cells modify eardrum motion, producing sounds that can be detected by a microphone placed in the ear canal (e.g. as otoacoustic emissions). Here, we report a novel form of eardrum motion produced by the brain via these systems -- oscillations synchronized with and covarying with the direction and amplitude of saccades. These observations suggest that a vision-related process modulates the first stage of hearing. In particular, these eye-movement related eardrum oscillations may help the brain connect sights and sounds despite changes in the spatial relationship between the eyes and the ears.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted June 29, 2017.
Download PDF
Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
The eardrum moves when the eyes move: A multisensory effect on the mechanics of hearing
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
The eardrum moves when the eyes move: A multisensory effect on the mechanics of hearing
K. G. Gruters, D. L. K. Murphy, D. W. Smith, C. A. Shera, J. M. Groh
bioRxiv 156570; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/156570
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
The eardrum moves when the eyes move: A multisensory effect on the mechanics of hearing
K. G. Gruters, D. L. K. Murphy, D. W. Smith, C. A. Shera, J. M. Groh
bioRxiv 156570; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/156570

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Neuroscience
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (3479)
  • Biochemistry (7318)
  • Bioengineering (5296)
  • Bioinformatics (20196)
  • Biophysics (9976)
  • Cancer Biology (7701)
  • Cell Biology (11249)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (6417)
  • Ecology (9915)
  • Epidemiology (2065)
  • Evolutionary Biology (13276)
  • Genetics (9352)
  • Genomics (12551)
  • Immunology (7673)
  • Microbiology (18937)
  • Molecular Biology (7417)
  • Neuroscience (40887)
  • Paleontology (298)
  • Pathology (1226)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2125)
  • Physiology (3140)
  • Plant Biology (6837)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1270)
  • Synthetic Biology (1891)
  • Systems Biology (5296)
  • Zoology (1084)