Feature binding across sense modalities: Visual and tactual interactions

In spite of the distributed cortical processing of visual object attributes such as color and motion, these features can be bound into a unified conscious percept of a colored, moving object. The functional mechanisms underlying feature binding have been widely studied in vision. However, other object attributes are also processed in this distributed fashion. The principles governing visual feature binding have only recently been applied to non-visual sense modalities. The studies presented here represent an initial attempt to investigate the binding of features presented in separate sense modalities. Visuospatial frequency (visual sinusoidal luminance gratings) and vibrotactile frequency (fingertip vibrations) were combined in a conflict paradigm to investigate whether a binding mechanism could mediate the observed intersensory interaction between the perception of these two features. The results suggest that the interaction happens on the perceptual (rather than cognitive) level, but it is as yet unclear what role feature binding may play.