scholarly journals An emergent model of multisensory integration in superior colliculus neurons

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cuppini
Keyword(s):  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Multisensory Integration ◽  
Superior Colliculus Neurons

Multisensory Versus Unisensory Integration: Contrasting Modes in the Superior Colliculus

2007 ◽  
Vol 97 (5) ◽  
pp. 3193-3205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Carlos Alvarado ◽  
J. William Vaughan ◽  
Terrence R. Stanford ◽  
Barry E. Stein
Keyword(s):  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Multisensory Integration ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
The Other ◽  
Neural Computations ◽  
Superior Colliculus Neurons ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Component Stimulus

The present study suggests that the neural computations used to integrate information from different senses are distinct from those used to integrate information from within the same sense. Using superior colliculus neurons as a model, it was found that multisensory integration of cross-modal stimulus combinations yielded responses that were significantly greater than those evoked by the best component stimulus. In contrast, unisensory integration of within-modal stimulus pairs yielded responses that were similar to or less than those evoked by the best component stimulus. This difference is exemplified by the disproportionate representations of superadditive responses during multisensory integration and the predominance of subadditive responses during unisensory integration. These observations suggest that different rules have evolved for integrating sensory information, one (unisensory) reflecting the inherent characteristics of the individual sense and, the other (multisensory), unique supramodal characteristics designed to enhance the salience of the initiating event.

Developmental plasticity of multisensory circuitry: how early experience dictates cross-modal interactions

2012 ◽  
Vol 108 (11) ◽  
pp. 2863-2866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana K. Sarko ◽  
Dipanwita Ghose
Keyword(s):  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Multisensory Integration ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Multisensory Processing ◽  
Early Experience ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
Driving Factor ◽  
Modal Interactions ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Superior Colliculus Neurons

Normal sensory experience is necessary for the development of multisensory processing, such that disruption through environmental manipulations eliminates or alters multisensory integration. In this Neuro Forum, we examine the recent paper by Xu et al. ( J Neurosci 32: 2287–2298, 2012) which proposes that the statistics of cross-modal stimuli encountered early in life might be a driving factor for the development of normal multisensory integrative abilities in superior colliculus neurons. We present additional interpretations of their analyses as well as future directions and translational implications of this study for understanding the neural substrates and plasticity inherent to multisensory processing.

scholarly journals Multisensory Integration in the Superior Colliculus of the Alert Cat

1998 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 1006-1010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark T. Wallace ◽  
M. Alex Meredith ◽  
Barry E. Stein
Keyword(s):  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Multisensory Integration ◽  
Sensory Response ◽  
Functional Link ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Alert Cat

Wallace, Mark T., M. Alex Meredith, and Barry E. Stein. Multisensory integration in the superior colliculus of the alert cat. J. Neurophysiol. 80: 1006–1010, 1998. The modality convergence patterns, sensory response properties, and principles governing multisensory integration in the superior colliculus (SC) of the alert cat were found to have fundamental similarities to those in anesthetized animals. Of particular interest was the observation that, in a manner indistinguishable from the anesthetized animal, combinations of two different sensory stimuli significantly enhanced the responses of SC neurons above those evoked by either unimodal stimulus. These observations are consistent with the speculation that there is a functional link among multisensory integration in individual SC neurons and cross-modality attentive and orientation behaviors.

Early Experience Determines How the Senses Will Interact

2007 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 921-926 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark T. Wallace ◽  
Barry E. Stein
Keyword(s):  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Multisensory Integration ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Spatial Relationship ◽  
Early Experience ◽  
Auditory Stimuli ◽  
Anomalous Form ◽  
Sensory Environment ◽  
External Events ◽  
The Brain

Multisensory integration refers to the process by which the brain synthesizes information from different senses to enhance sensitivity to external events. In the present experiments, animals were reared in an altered sensory environment in which visual and auditory stimuli were temporally coupled but originated from different locations. Neurons in the superior colliculus developed a seemingly anomalous form of multisensory integration in which spatially disparate visual-auditory stimuli were integrated in the same way that neurons in normally reared animals integrated visual-auditory stimuli from the same location. The data suggest that the principles governing multisensory integration are highly plastic and that there is no a priori spatial relationship between stimuli from different senses that is required for their integration. Rather, these principles appear to be established early in life based on the specific features of an animal's environment to best adapt it to deal with that environment later in life.

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