Noise-rearing precludes the behavioral benefits of multisensory integration. (24th March 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bean, Naomi L; Smyre, Scott A; Stein, Barry E; Rowland, Benjamin A
• Is Part Of: Cerebral cortex. Volume 33:Number 4(2023)
• Page Start: 948
• Page End: 958
• Publication Date: 2022-03-24
• Subjects: cross-modal -- development -- multisensory integration -- noise-rearing -- vision; Cerebral cortex -- Periodicals; Brain -- Periodicals; 612.825
• DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac113
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1047-3211

Abstract

Abstract: Concordant visual–auditory stimuli enhance the responses of individual superior colliculus (SC) neurons. This neuronal capacity for "multisensory integration" is not innate: it is acquired only after substantial cross-modal (e.g. auditory–visual) experience. Masking transient auditory cues by raising animals in omnidirectional sound ("noise-rearing") precludes their ability to obtain this experience and the ability of the SC to construct a normal multisensory (auditory–visual) transform. SC responses to combinations of concordant visual–auditory stimuli are depressed, rather than enhanced. The present experiments examined the behavioral consequence of this rearing condition in a simple detection/localization task. In the first experiment, the auditory component of the concordant cross-modal pair was novel, and only the visual stimulus was a target. In the second experiment, both component stimuli were targets. Noise-reared animals failed to show multisensory performance benefits in either experiment. These results reveal a close parallel between behavior and single neuron physiology in the multisensory deficits that are induced when noise disrupts early visual–auditory experience.