Development of multisensory processing in cortico-subcortical networks

虽然感觉加工是神经科学中一个恒定的研究课题，但它的研究主要是通过一次考虑单一的感觉方式来实现的。然而，对环境的真实感知依赖于来自多种感官的信息的整合。传统上，这种多感觉处理被专门分配给大脑中更高的会聚区域，如上级丘或前额叶皮层，在那里神经元接收来自不同感觉的输入并将它们联合收割机。这一概念最近受到了挑战的跨通道处理的识别pueclampus unisensory新皮层区域。我们最近证明了神经网络振荡和初级感觉皮层之间的直接连接以及皮层下前馈相互作用在视觉-体感处理中的关键作用。然而，跨模态处理的基本机制和这些相互作用的个体发育仍然在很大程度上未知。本建议旨在阐明这些问题，集中在稀疏调查的收敛在大鼠大脑中的视觉和触觉信息在体内。在第一步中，同时从初级感觉皮层和丘脑核的细胞外记录将进行表征跨模态处理中的皮层下前馈相互作用的作用。第二，我们将决定是否多感官经验是必要的成熟的皮层和皮层下的视觉-触觉的相互作用。第三，我们将决定是否unisensory经验在定义的发展阶段（关键时期）是强制性的成熟皮层和皮层下的视觉-触觉相互作用的基础上的多感官知觉。

While sensory processing represents a constant research topic in neuroscience, its investigation has been mainly achieved by considering a single sensory modality at a time. However, real-world perception of the environment relies on the integration of information from multiple senses. Traditionally, this multisensory processing has been exclusively assigned to higher convergence areas in the brain, such as the superior colliculus or prefrontal cortex, where neurons receive inputs from different senses and combine them. This concept has been recently challenged by the identification of cross-modal processing in putatively unisensory neocortical regions. We recently demonstrated the critical role of neural network oscillations and direct connectivity between primary sensory cortices as well as of subcortical feedforward interactions in visual-somatosensory processing. However, the underlying mechanisms of cross-modal processing and the ontogeny of these interactions remain largely unknown. The present proposal aims at elucidating these issues by focusing on the sparsely investigated convergence of visual and tactile information in the rat brain in vivo. In a first step, simultaneous extracellular recordings from primary sensory cortices and thalamic nuclei will be conducted to characterize the role of subcortical feedforward interactions in cross-modal processing. Second, we will decide whether multisensory experience is necessary for the maturation of cortical and subcortical visual-tactile interactions. Third, we will decide whether unisensory experience during defined developmental stages (critical periods) is mandatory for the maturation of cortical and subcortical visual-tactile interactions underlying multisensory perception.