Crossmodal Attention Applied

Cognitive neuroscientists have started to uncover the neural substrates systems and mechanisms enabling us to prioritize the processing of certain sensory information over other currently less-relevant inputs. However there is still a large gap between the knowledge generated in the laboratory and its application to real-life problems of attention as when for example interface operators are multi-tasking. In this Element laboratory studies on crossmodal attention (both behavioural/psychophysical and cognitive neuroscience) are situated within the applied context of driving. We contrast the often idiosyncratic conditions favoured by much of the laboratory research typically using a few popular paradigms involving simplified experimental conditions with the noisy multisensory real-world environments filled with complex intrinsically-meaningful stimuli. By drawing attention to the differences between basic and applied studies in the context of driving we highlight a number of important issues and neglected areas of research as far as the study of crossmodal attention is concerned.