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So far, so what? There are lots of popular and sound-related spatial computations.
Careful whispers: when kinds of content being created for In contrast, the rostral neural properties
sounds feel like a touch YouTube, and they cannot all be of of auditory fields are associated with long
scientific interest. We wish to argue, how- response latencies, slower yet sustained
Efe C. Niven1 and ever, that this audiovisual elicitation of responses to sound onsets, and visual
Sophie K. Scott1,* somatosensation (AVES) is an intriguing input, with functional links to recognition
demonstration of a perceptual illusion processes, connections to semantic net-
that results from links between auditory works and multiple auditory streams.
There are anatomical and functional and somatosensory processing. Further We propose that the caudal fields, with
links between auditory and somato- exploration of AVES may well be an their links to both spatial processing and
sensory processing. We suggest important way of determining some of the somatosensory processing may be criti-
that these links form the basis for functional relationships between sound, cal links in the perception of AVES.
the popular internet phenomenon space and touch.
where people enjoy a sense of In acoustic terms, sounds with a lower
touch from auditory (and often Auditory processing is influenced by spectral centre of gravity, or a ‘darker’
audiovisual) stimuli. somatosensory input from the cochlear timbre – that is, where there is a dominance
nucleus and the ascending auditory path- of low frequencies in the spectral shape of a
way, up to the cortex [2] (Figure 1). Indeed, sound – are more likely to lead to AVES sen-
Over the past decade, there has been a the processing of some aspects of sounds sations [6], which is consistent with previous
great increase in online content created in the ascending auditory pathway requires findings of preferences for stimuli with a
with the specific aim of causing the audi- information from the somatosensory sys- lower pitch [7]. This cannot be the whole
ence to experience a pleasant sense of tem (e.g., about head orientation). At the story however: whispered speech evokes
touch, also called a tingling sensation, cortex, there are anatomical links between a weak sense of pitch (as it contains primar-
often around the scalp, neck, shoulders, auditory fields and somatosensation. The ily spectral pitch cues), and the plosives and
and back [1]. It is not the case that all functional consequences of these links fricatives that are anecdotally popular in
sounds elicit such sensations: these tend have been seen in several studies: in AVES recordings are often higher in their
to be quiet sounds such as whispered studies of nonhuman primates, caudal– spectral centre of gravity. Furthermore, we
speech, nonverbal sounds such as finger medial auditory fields respond to touch as note a suggestion of a spatial element –
tapping or crinkling, and personal atten- well as sound and receive inputs from people creating these films for YouTube typ-
tion roleplays, such as the sounds of a somatosensory fields [3]. A functional ically make sounds very close to the micro-
haircut [1]. They are typically recorded in magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) phones, and popular use of binaural
a way that makes the sounds seem study in humans showed that hearing microphones suggests that AVES may re-
proximal to the listener. People who are a sandpaper rubbing sound and feel- quire the sounds to not be simply proximal,
sensitive to these experiences often find ing the texture of sandpaper with the but close to the listener’s ears and head
them to be relaxing, and they have be- fingertips led to spatially overlapping [6]. Finally, there is a key role for interper-
come even more popular under the global cortical activation in caudal auditory sonal features, such as the use of emotive
COVID-19 pandemic – in September areas, extending up into somatosensory language and semantic dialogues wherein
2020 searches for videos which played cortex [4]. social interactions occur, including direct
such sounds were the third most common personal attention [8] – for example, the
on YouTube (https://theconversation.com/ A recent computational model of cortical sound of a haircut, where the AVES listener
asmr-what-we-know-so-far-about-this- auditory processes [5] suggested that is the recipient of the haircut. These roles
unique-brain-phenomenon-and-what-we- caudal and rostral auditory fields could for proximity and personal attention, com-
dont-135106). The term ASMR is frequently be broadly distinguished in their re- bined with sounds that would actually be
used to describe these experiences, sponses to sensory input. The neural hard to hear if they were occurring at a dis-
which stands for autonomous sensory properties of caudal fields are associated tance, suggests that AVES is strongly asso-
meridian response, but these words are with short response latencies, transient ciated with sounds that could be occurring
not accurate descriptions of the sensory responses to the onsets of sounds, and close to the experiencer, and resulting from
experience, nor of the manner in which somatosensory input. These were associ- behaviour directed at the experiencer. This
it is elicited, so we will not be using it ated functionally with guiding sound pro- seems to be how visual information
further. duction, processing sounds as actions enhances AVES responses, with a strong

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 Trends in Cognitive Sciences

AVES experience – with evidence sug-

Belt gesting that people who are more prone
Cortex to AVES sensations are more open to ex-
Core S2 S1
periences, more empathetic, and more
likely to get engaged in immersive experi-
Parabelt
ences [11]. They also display changes in
autonomic responses during AVES sensa-
MGv MGd MGm Thalamus PV tions, including reduced heart rate and
heightened skin conductance [12]. More
work is needed. However, we strongly
suspect that AVES will prove to be a very

Ascending somatosensory pathways

DCoN important illustration of the links between
ICc ICx sound, space, and somatosensation.
When we hear a sound, it means some-
Ascending auditory pathway

thing has happened, and when we hear

sounds that seem close to our ears, are
SOC Sp5 gentle, and result from actions and atten-
DRG
tion that seem to be directed at us, this
TG may prime somatosensory responses.
And the experience may be pleasant and
DCN relaxing precisely because, away from
VCN the internet, in the real world such situa-
Trends in Cognitive Sciences tions would normally occur in a trusting, in-
Figure 1. Integration of ascending somatosensory and auditory pathways. This figure shows the timate and affectionate way.
integration of ascending somatosensory pathways and cortical fields (in red) into ascending auditory pathways
and cortical fields (in black). The dorsal and ventral cochlear nuclei (DCN and VCN) receive ascending
somatosensory inputs from trigeminal ganglia (TG), spinal trigeminal nuclei (Sp5), dorsal root ganglia (DRG),
Declaration of interests
and dorsal column nuclei (DCoN) via the marginal cell area of the VCN. There are also separate inputs to the No interests are declared.
central and external nuclei of the inferior colliculi (ICC and ICX), and the auditory thalamic nuclei. Finally, there
are projections from primary (S1) and secondary (S2) somatosensory cortex to auditory core, belt, and
1
parabelt auditory fields. Abbreviations: MGd, dorsal nucleus of medial geniculate body; MGm, medial nucleus Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL, 17 Queen Square,
of medial geniculate body; MGv, ventral nucleus of medial geniculate body; PV, posterior ventral nucleus of London WC1N 3AZ, UK

thalamus; SOC, superior olivary complex.

*Correspondence:
sophie.scott@ucl.ac.uk (S.K. Scott).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2021.05.006

link to attentional and performative elements systematic exploration of the acoustic and © 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
of the content. visual factors that lead to AVES experi-
ences may be able to expand upon these References
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