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Midbrain Neurons Integrate Information From Different Senses To Produce Adaptive Behaviors
Author(s) -
Stein Barry Edward
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.23.1_supplement.185.1
Subject(s) - superior colliculus , midbrain , neuroscience , somatosensory system , sensory system , inferior colliculus , multisensory integration , psychology , sensory cue , contrast (vision) , premovement neuronal activity , stimulus modality , computer science , central nervous system , artificial intelligence , nucleus
Midbrain Neurons Integrate Information From Different Senses To Produce Adaptive Behaviors. Barry E. Stein . Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, Wake Forest University, School of Medicine, Winston‐Salem, North Carolina, 27157, USA Midbrain neurons in the superior colliculus (SC) are able to synthesize information from different senses, thereby substantially altering their responses to external stimuli (visual, auditory and somatosensory) and the behaviors that depend on them. Cross‐modal stimuli whose spatial and temporal properties make them likely to be associated with common events enhance physiological responses, and also enhance behavioral performance on orientation and localization tasks. Often, these performance benefits are quite striking, substantially increasing the probability of responding appropriately to biologically relevant events. In contrast, cross‐modal stimuli that are more likely to be associated with different external events either yield no multisensory integration or degrade physiological responses and overt behavior. Using the cat and monkey SC as models, we have found that neither these properties of SC neurons nor their behavioral benefits are present in the neonatal brain. Their maturation was studied in cat and found to be gradual and to be dependent on two factors: the development of a cooperative interaction between the descending projections to the SC from different sensory subdivisions of association cortex (e.g., visual and auditory), and the acquisition of extensive postnatal experience with the relevant cross‐modal cues. The biological significance of this circuit for underlying adaptive behavior, its developmental antecedents, and the likely component of the circuit that acquires the relevant cross‐modal experience will be discussed. This research was supported by NIH grants EY016716 and NS36916.