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Updated: May 4, 2026

A Large Lateral Craniotomy Procedure for Mesoscale Wide-field Optical Imaging of Brain Activity
Published on: May 7, 2017
Intracranial cortical responses during visual-tactile integration in humans
Brian T Quinn1, Chad Carlson, Werner Doyle
1Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, New York University, New York, New York 10016, Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003, Multimodal Imaging Laboratory, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, and Department of Radiology, New York University, New York, New York 10016.
Brain regions like the temporo-parieto-occipital junction (TPOJ) integrate visual and tactile information late in processing. This study reveals distinct mechanisms for combining sensory inputs, supporting a late integration model.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Sensory Processing
Background:
- Multisensory integration is vital for environmental perception and navigation.
- The brain's mechanisms for combining visual and tactile information are not well understood.
- Previous research suggests early integration in low-level sensory areas for other modalities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the temporal dynamics of visual-tactile multisensory integration in humans.
- To identify the brain regions involved in combining visual and tactile sensory information.
- To characterize the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying this integration process.
Main Methods:
- Utilized intracranial electrocorticography (ECoG) for high spatial and temporal resolution.
- Developed a novel two-step metric to define and quantify multisensory integration.
- Analyzed local field potentials (LFPs) and high-gamma-band power.
Main Results:
- Sensory integration of vision and touch occurs late, both anatomically and temporally.
- Integration was observed in the temporo-parieto-occipital junction (TPOJ) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
- Identified two distinct, temporally separated integration mechanisms in TPOJ, with local suppression being dominant.
Conclusions:
- Visual-tactile sensory integration is a late-stage process, primarily occurring in tertiary association cortices.
- The TPOJ plays a critical role, employing distinct mechanisms including local suppression.
- Findings support established theories of late, high-level multisensory integration.
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