Determinants of multisensory integration in superior colliculus neurons. I. Temporal factors

One of the most impressive features of the central nervous system is its ability to process information from a variety of stimuli to produce an integrated, comprehensive representation of the external world. In the present study, the temporal disparity among combinations of different sensory stimuli...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of neuroscience 1987-10, Vol.7 (10), p.3215-3229
Main Authors: Meredith, MA, Nemitz, JW, Stein, BE
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acoustic Stimulation
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Cats
Eye and associated structures. Visual pathways and centers. Vision
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Neurons - physiology
Photic Stimulation
Physical Stimulation
Sensation - physiology
Superior Colliculi - cytology
Superior Colliculi - physiology
Time Factors
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:One of the most impressive features of the central nervous system is its ability to process information from a variety of stimuli to produce an integrated, comprehensive representation of the external world. In the present study, the temporal disparity among combinations of different sensory stimuli was shown to be a critical factor influencing the integration of multisensory stimuli by superior colliculus neurons. Several temporal principles that govern multisensory integration were revealed: (1) maximal levels of response enhancement were generated by overlapping the peak discharge periods evoked by each modality; (2) the magnitude of this enhancement decayed monotonically to zero as the peak discharge periods became progressively more temporally disparate; (3) with further increases in temporal disparity, the same stimulus combinations that previously produced enhancement could often produce depression; and (4) these kinds of interactions could frequently be predicted from the discharge trains initiated by each stimulus alone. Since multisensory superior colliculus neurons project to premotor areas of the brain stem and spinal cord that control the orientation of the receptor organs (eyes, pinnae, head), they are believed to influence attentive and orientation behaviors. Therefore, it is likely that the temporal relationships of different environmental stimuli that control the activity of these neurons are also a powerful determinant of superior colliculus-mediated attentive and orientation behaviors.
ISSN:0270-6474
1529-2401
DOI:10.1523/jneurosci.07-10-03215.1987