Unveiling the mind's ear: Understanding the science behind auditory processing using illusions
Hearing research
Hear Res. 2025 Feb 25;459:109227. doi: 10.1016/j.heares.2025.109227. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Our perceptual experience is not purely driven by the information our senses receive but is an active combination of prior experience and the sensory information that we receive. This is promisingly demonstrated by an illusory experience. Particularly in the auditory domain, we encounter illusions that serve as a tool to understand the more holistic and bigger umbrella of auditory processing. In the current manuscript, we review spectral, temporal, spatial auditory and multisensory processing through the lens of auditory illusions. We review examples of auditory illusions that could serve as models to better comprehend these sub-domains of auditory processing. We also explore the literature where these illusions have been used as a causal human model to unravel mechanisms behind neuropathology and conclude with futuristic applications of auditory illusions.
