Abstract
Multisensory plasticity enables our senses to dynamically adapt to each other and the external environment, a fundamental operation that our brain performs continuously. We searched for neural correlates of adult multisensory plasticity in the dorsal medial superior temporal area (MSTd) and the ventral intraparietal area (VIP) in 2 male rhesus macaques using a paradigm of supervised calibration. We report little plasticity in neural responses in the relatively low-level multisensory cortical area MSTd. In contrast, neural correlates of plasticity are found in higher-level multisensory VIP, an area with strong decision-related activity. Accordingly, we observed systematic shifts of VIP tuning curves, which were reflected in the choicerelated component of the population response. This is the first demonstration of neuronal calibration, together with behavioral calibration, in single sessions. These results lay the foundation for understanding multisensory neural plasticity, applicable broadly to maintaining accuracy for sensorimotor tasks. Significance Statement Multisensory plasticity is a fundamental and continual function of the brain that enables our senses to adapt dynamically to each other and to the external environment. Yet, very little is known about the neuronal mechanisms of multisensory plasticity. In this study, we searched for neural correlates of adult multisensory plasticity in the dorsal medial superior temporal area (MSTd) and the ventral intraparietal area (VIP) using a paradigm of supervised calibration. We found little plasticity in neural responses in the relatively low-level multisensory cortical area MSTd. By contrast, neural correlates of plasticity were found in VIP, a higher-level multisensory area with strong decision-related activity. This is the first demonstration of neuronal calibration, together with behavioral calibration, in single sessions.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 10108-10119 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Journal of Neuroscience |
Volume | 41 |
Issue number | 49 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 8 Dec 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:Copyright © 2021 the authors.
Funding
Received Jan. 20, 2021; revised Aug. 23, 2021; accepted Sep. 17, 2021. Author contributions: A.Z., G.C.D., and D.E.A. designed research; A.Z. performed research; A.Z. and J.L. analyzed data; A.Z., J.L., G.C.D., and D.E.A. wrote the paper. This work was supported by NIH Grant R01 DC014678 to D.E.A.; and Israel Science Foundation Grant 1291/ 20 to A.Z. The authors declare no competing financial interests. Correspondence should be addressed to Adam Zaidel at [email protected]. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0135-21.2021 Copyright © 2021 the authors
Funders | Funder number |
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National Institutes of Health | |
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders | R01DC014678 |
Israel Science Foundation | 1291/ 20 |
Keywords
- multisensory
- perceptual decision making
- plasticity
- self-motion
- vestibular
- visual