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Studying the Integration of Adult-born Neurons
Published on: March 25, 2011
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Multisensory integration: current issues from the perspective of the single neuron
Barry E Stein1, Terrence R Stanford
1Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157, USA. bestein@wfubmc.edu
Nature Reviews. Neuroscience
|March 21, 2008
Summary
Multisensory integration, how senses work together, relies on neuronal communication developing after birth, potentially needing specific experiences. This process is crucial for perceiving biologically significant events.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sensory processing
- Developmental biology
Background:
- Philosophers have long observed sensory cooperation but lacked mechanistic understanding.
- The salience of biologically meaningful events is enhanced by integrated sensory information.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine fundamental advances in understanding multisensory integration.
- To identify remaining challenges in the field of sensory neuroscience.
Main Methods:
- Review of physiological mechanisms underlying sensory dialogue.
- Analysis of studies on multisensory integration in mammalian midbrain and cerebral cortex.
Main Results:
- Multisensory integration depends on neuronal dialogue across multiple neuraxis levels.
- This dialogue is a postnatal development and may require specific experiential input.
Conclusions:
- Understanding multisensory integration requires studying its developmental trajectory and experiential dependencies.
- Further research is needed to fully elucidate the mechanisms and acquisition of multisensory processing.
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