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Multisensory horizon
1Waseda Institute for Advanced Study, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan h.cheng.12@alumni.ucl.ac.uk.
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
|June 24, 2026
Summary
The "sensory horizon" concept wrongly prioritizes vision. Aquatic animals use rich multisensory integration, suggesting a "multisensory horizon" better reflects their world.
Area of Science:
- Sensory Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Aquatic Vertebrate Biology
Background:
- The established
- sensory horizon
- concept primarily focuses on visual perception.
- This overlooks the complex sensory worlds of aquatic animals.
- Aquatic vertebrates rely on a diverse array of senses beyond vision.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critique the visual-centric
- sensory horizon
- framework.
- To advocate for a more inclusive concept that acknowledges multisensory integration in aquatic environments.
- To propose the term
- multisensory horizon
- as a more accurate descriptor.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and conceptual analysis.
- Examination of evidence for multisensory integration in aquatic vertebrates.
- Critique of visual bias in ecological and evolutionary studies.
Main Results:
- Aquatic vertebrates possess highly developed auditory, mechanosensory, olfactory, and tactile systems.
- Multisensory integration is crucial for essential behaviors in aquatic life.
- Evidence suggests that complex multisensory integration evolved in aquatic environments.
Conclusions:
- The term
- sensory horizon
- is an inadequate representation of aquatic animal perception.
- A
- multisensory horizon
- framework is necessary to accurately capture ecological and evolutionary realities.
- Adopting the
- multisensory horizon
- concept will foster a more comprehensive understanding of sensory biology.
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