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Author Spotlight: Deciphering Neural Circuit Formation from Two-Photon Microscopy and Single Neuron Imaging

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Contrary neuronal recalibration in different multisensory cortical areas.

Fu Zeng¹, Adam Zaidel², Aihua Chen¹

¹Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (Ministry of Education), East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.

|March 6, 2023

Summary

The brain recalibrates multisensory information to reduce conflict. Neuronal tuning shifts in MSTd and PIVC follow perceptual changes, but VIP shows a unique global shift.

Keywords:

adaptation cross-modal neuroscience plasticity rhesus macaque self-motion vestibular visual

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Sensory Processing
Brain Plasticity

Background:

The adult brain exhibits multisensory plasticity, recalibrating based on multiple sensory inputs.
Visual-vestibular conflict leads to perceptual shifts to reduce discrepancies.
The neural mechanisms underlying this recalibration remain largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the neural substrates of visual-vestibular recalibration.
To examine neuronal activity in MSTd, PIVC, and VIP during recalibration.
To understand how different brain areas contribute to multisensory integration and plasticity.

Main Methods:

Single-neuron activity was recorded from dorsal medial superior temporal (MSTd), parietoinsular vestibular cortex (PIVC), and ventral intraparietal (VIP) areas.
Experiments were conducted on three male rhesus macaques.
Visual and vestibular stimuli were used to induce and measure recalibration.

Main Results:

MSTd neurons showed shifts in both visual and vestibular tuning, aligning with perceptual shifts.
PIVC vestibular neurons shifted tuning with vestibular perception, but were not visually tuned.
VIP neurons exhibited a unique shift where both visual and vestibular tuning aligned with vestibular perception, not visual perception.

Conclusions:

Unsupervised recalibration occurs in early multisensory cortices like MSTd and PIVC to resolve cue conflict.
Higher-level area VIP reflects a global shift in vestibular space, integrating information differently.
This suggests distinct roles for different cortical areas in multisensory recalibration and plasticity.