A multisensory perspective onto primate pulvinar functions

•Primate primary sensory cortex (i.e. visual, auditory, somatosensory) is massively multisensory.•The pulvinar is densely reciprocally connected with multisensory cortical areas.•The pulvinar is functionally activated by very diverse sensory inputs.•We propose that the pulvinar combines sources of s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews 2021-06, Vol.125, p.231-243
Main Authors: Froesel, Mathilda, Cappe, Céline, Ben Hamed, Suliann
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anatomy
Auditory
Cognitive science
Cortex
fMRI
Multisensory
Pulvinar
Somatosensory
Visual
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Summary:•Primate primary sensory cortex (i.e. visual, auditory, somatosensory) is massively multisensory.•The pulvinar is densely reciprocally connected with multisensory cortical areas.•The pulvinar is functionally activated by very diverse sensory inputs.•We propose that the pulvinar combines sources of sensory information to enhance fast responses to the environment.•We propose that the pulvinar is a multisensory regulation hub for adaptive, flexible cognition and fast behavioral responses. Perception in ambiguous environments relies on the combination of sensory information from various sources. Most associative and primary sensory cortical areas are involved in this multisensory active integration process. As a result, the entire cortex appears as heavily multisensory. In this review, we focus on the contribution of the pulvinar to multisensory integration. This subcortical thalamic nucleus plays a central role in visual detection and selection at a fast time scale, as well as in the regulation of visual processes, at a much slower time scale. However, the pulvinar is also densely connected to cortical areas involved in multisensory integration. In spite of this, little is known about its multisensory properties and its contribution to multisensory perception. Here, we review the anatomical and functional organization of multisensory input to the pulvinar. We describe how visual, auditory, somatosensory, pain, proprioceptive and olfactory projections are differentially organized across the main subdivisions of the pulvinar and we show that topography is central to the organization of this complex nucleus. We propose that the pulvinar combines multiple sources of sensory information to enhance fast responses to the environment, while also playing the role of a general regulation hub for adaptive and flexible cognition.
ISSN:0149-7634
1873-7528
DOI:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.02.043