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Cortical vestibular-visual interactions and cross-modal plasticity-adaptive neural processes for stable perception
Huizhe Sun1, Ziyi Tan1, Fu Zeng1
1Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (Ministry of Education), East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
Frontiers in Neural Circuits
|July 23, 2026
Summary
The brain adapts to conflicting sensory information, like visual and vestibular signals, through recalibration. This process ensures reliable perception and balance, crucial for brain function and treating balance disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sensory Processing
- Multisensory Plasticity
Background:
- Vestibular and visual signal integration is vital for spatial orientation, self-motion perception, and postural stability.
- Sensory conflicts necessitate adaptive neural mechanisms for perceptual reliability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review cortical pathways for vestibular and visual processing.
- To discuss multisensory integration and segregation mechanisms.
- To emphasize recalibration as a core adaptive mechanism in multisensory plasticity.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of behavioral and neural evidence.
- Review of cortical pathways and neuronal populations.
- Analysis of computational principles in multisensory processing.
Main Results:
- Recalibration operates across multiple timescales, from gradual adjustments to rapid updates.
- Differential adaptive responses are observed across multisensory cortical areas.
- Visual-vestibular recalibration is proposed as a fundamental principle of multisensory plasticity.
Conclusions:
- Multisensory plasticity, particularly visual-vestibular recalibration, is key to adapting to sensory conflicts.
- Understanding these mechanisms has broad implications for brain function.
- This knowledge can inform therapeutic approaches for sensory and balance disorders.
Related Concept Videos
01:29The Vestibular System
The vestibular system is a set of inner ear structures that provide a sense of balance and spatial orientation. This system is comprised of structures within the labyrinth of the inner ear, including the cochlea and two otolith organs—the utricle and saccule. The labyrinth also contains three semicircular canals—superior, posterior, and horizontal—that are oriented on different planes.
01:14Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex
The cerebral cortex, the brain's outermost layer, is pivotal in processing complex cognitive tasks, emotions, and various sensory inputs and executing voluntary motor activities. This intricate structure is divided into three primary functional areas: the motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas.
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex.
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex.
01:01Neuroplasticity
Neuroplasticity reflects the brain's remarkable capacity to adapt and evolve, responding dynamically to learning, experiences, or injury by reorganizing its neural circuitry. This reorganization involves creating new neural connections and refining old ones through a series of biological processes that contribute to the brain's lifelong development and adaptability.
01:26Visual System
Light enters the eye through the cornea, a transparent, dome-shaped surface covering the surface of the eyeball that helps to direct and focus incoming light. This light is then channeled toward the pupil, an adjustable opening whose size is controlled by the iris. The iris, a pigmented muscle, regulates the amount of light entering the eye by contracting or dilating the pupil, thereby ensuring optimal light levels for clear vision.
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...
01:24Vision
Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.
01:23Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex
The somatosensory cortex in the parietal lobes is crucial for interpreting sensory data such as touch, temperature, and proprioception. The somatosensory cortex, situated in the parietal lobes, plays a vital role in interpreting sensory information like touch, temperature, and proprioception—awareness of body position. This specialized brain region features an organized structure wherein neurons at the top primarily process sensations originating from the lower body. In contrast, those at the...