A ride in the park: Cycling in different outdoor environments modulates the auditory evoked potentials

In this study, we investigated the effect of environmental sounds on ERPs during an auditory task, by having participants perform the same dual task in two different outdoor environments. Participants performed an auditory oddball task while cycling outside both in a quiet park and near a noisy roadway. While biking near the roadway, an increased N1 amplitude was observed when evoked by both standard and target tones. This may be due to attentional processes of enhancing sound processing in the noisier environment. No behavioural differences were found. Future directions include investigating auditory ERPs in more realistic studies outside of laboratory.