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Auditory spatial attention

What is auditory spatial attention? A clear definition from the hearing and sound section of our glossary, with 12 related terms, tools to try and further reading.

Definition of Auditory spatial attention

Auditory spatial attention is a specific form of attention, involving the focusing of auditory perception to a location in space.

Although the properties of visuospatial attention have been the subject of detailed study, relatively less work has been done to elucidate the mechanisms of audiospatial attention. Spence and Driver note that while early researchers investigating auditory spatial attention failed to find the types of effects seen in other modalities such as vision, these null effects may be due to the adaptation of visual paradigms to the auditory domain, which has decreased spatial acuity.

Recent neuroimaging research has provided insight into the processes behind audiospatial attention, suggesting functional overlap with portions of the brain previously shown to be responsible for visual attention.

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What is Auditory spatial attention?

Auditory spatial attention is a specific form of attention, involving the focusing of auditory perception to a location in space.

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