Walking Influences How the Brain Processes Sound, New Research Shows

Recent research published in the Journal of Neuroscience reveals that walking can significantly affect how our brains interpret auditory information. Led by Liyu Cao from Zhejiang University and Barbara Händel from the University of Würzburg, the study investigated whether the direction of walking impacts sound perception.

The experiment involved thirty volunteers who traced an eight-shaped path while listening to continuous streams of sound with varying intensities. Brain activity was recorded during these sessions. The findings showed that neural responses to sounds were notably stronger during walking than when standing still or walking in place. Moreover, these responses varied in accordance with changes in sound intensity, and interestingly, changing walking directions altered how the brain responded to auditory stimuli.

For example, Cao explained that when participants made a right turn, their responses to sounds emanating from the right ear initially increased and then decreased relative to sounds from the left ear, possibly indicating shifts in attentional focus during movement. Additionally, when short bursts of tones were embedded into the sound stream, these disrupted the brain's usual response patterns. The strongest responses to these tones occurred only when the sounds were presented to one ear during walking.

This suggests that during movement, the brain might actively filter out predictable background sounds, such as footsteps, while becoming more sensitive to unexpected auditory cues from the environment. Such a filtering mechanism could enhance reactions to sudden sounds, aiding safer navigation in dynamic environments. The findings imply that our auditory system is finely tuned to detect novelty and deviation, especially when we are in motion.

These insights could help improve understanding of sensory processing during movement and have implications for designing better assistive devices or environments for individuals with sensory processing challenges. This study underscores the intricate relationship between movement and sensory perception, highlighting how physical activity influences cognitive functions related to hearing.

Source: Medical Xpress