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Is neocortex essentially multisensory?

Asif A Ghazanfar1, Charles E Schroeder

  • 1Program in Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Green Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, 08540, USA. asifg@princeton.edu

Trends in Cognitive Sciences
|May 23, 2006
PubMed
Summary

Neocortical operations are fundamentally multisensory, challenging the traditional view of isolated sensory processing. Evidence shows multisensory integration influences even early sensory areas, suggesting senses rarely work alone in cognition.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Sensory Processing

Background:

  • Traditional neurobiology often studies sensory modalities in isolation.
  • Real-world behavior relies on integrating information from multiple senses.
  • Emerging evidence points to multisensory integration in early sensory areas.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the hypothesis that neocortical operations are inherently multisensory.
  • To review multisensory processing in association cortices.
  • To discuss findings on multisensory influences in early sensory areas.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of anatomical and physiological findings.
  • Examination of evidence for multisensory integration in the neocortex.
  • Analysis of research on higher-order association cortices and presumptive unimodal areas.

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Main Results:

  • Multisensory influences are pervasive across all levels of cortical processing.
  • Evidence supports multisensory integration extending into early sensory processing.
  • Higher-order association cortices demonstrate significant multisensory interactions.

Conclusions:

  • The traditional unisensory view of neural processing is inadequate.
  • Neocortical processing is largely, if not entirely, multisensory.
  • The concept of independent sensory operation during cognition should be abandoned.