Newborns’ ability to match non-speech audio-visual information in the absence of temporal synchrony

ABSTRACT

Multisensory experiences crucially contribute to the development of infants’ ability to match audio-visual (A-V) information. This study investigated two-day-old newborns’ ability to bind non-verbal, naturally occurring, experienced A-V stimuli. Our results demonstrate that, when presented with experienced stimuli (yawns and hiccups) within an intermodal matching procedure, 2-days-old newborns matched not only synchronous (Experiment 1) but also asynchronous A-V information (Experiment 2). Conversely, no evidence of A-V association was found when unexperienced stimuli, such as a linguistic sound (syllable/ba/) (Experiment 3), were presented in asynchrony. The possible role of sensorimotor experience in the early emergence of intersensory abilities is discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Newborns
• audiovisual perception
• multisensory
• sensorimotor experience

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

We certify that there are no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with a direct financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript (e.g., employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, and/or expert testimony).