Saccade-related sound pulses and phase-resetting contribute to eye movement-related eardrum oscillations (EMREOs)
King, C. D.; Groh, J. M.
Show abstract
Eye movement-related eardrum oscillations (EMREOs) appear to consist of a pulse of oscillation occurring in conjunction with saccades. However, this apparent pulse could occur either because there is an increase in energy at that frequency at the time of saccades (a true pulse), or because there is saccade-related phase resetting of ongoing energy at that frequency band, thus appearing like a pulse when averaged in the time domain across many trials. Here we conducted a spectral analysis at the individual trial level in humans performing a visually guided saccade task to determine whether the power at the EMREO frequency (30-45 Hz) is higher during saccades than during steady fixation. We found both an increase in sound power in the EMREO frequency band associated with saccades, i.e. sound pulses at the individual trial level, as well as, phase resetting at saccade onset/offset. While both factors contribute to the apparently pulse-like EMREO signal, phase resetting appears to be more prevalent across participants. The prevalence of phase resetting has implications for the underlying mechanism(s) producing EMREOs as well as functional consequences for how the ear might respond to incoming sound in an eye-position dependent fashion.
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