A Neural "Tuning Curve" for Multisensory Experience and Cognitive-Perceptual Schizotypy.
Our coherent perception of external events is enabled by the integration of inputs from different senses occurring within a range of temporal offsets known as the temporal binding window (TBW), which varies from person to person. A relatively wide TBW may increase the likelihood that stimuli originating from different environmental events are erroneously integrated and abnormally large TBW has been found in psychiatric disorders characterized by unusual perceptual experiences. Despite strong evidence of inter-individual differences in TBW, both within clinical and nonclinical populations, the neurobiological underpinnings of this variability remain unclear. We adopted an integrated strategy linking TBW to temporal dynamics in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-resting-state activity and cortical excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance. E/I balance was indexed by glutamate/Gamma-AminoButyric Acid (GABA) concentrations and common variation in glutamate and GABA genes in a healthy sample. Stronger resting-state long-range temporal correlations, indicated by larger power law exponent (PLE), in the auditory cortex, robustly predicted narrower audio-tactile TBW, which was in turn associated with lower cognitive-perceptual schizotypy. Furthermore, PLE was highest and TBW narrowest for individuals with intermediate levels of E/I balance, with shifts towards either extreme resulting in reduced multisensory temporal precision and increased schizotypy, effectively forming a neural "tuning curve" for multisensory experience and schizophrenia risk. Our findings shed light on the neurobiological underpinnings of multisensory integration and its potentially clinically relevant inter-individual variability.
Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK.|Institute of Mental Health Research, Brain and Mind Research Centre, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Francesca
F
Ferri
Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute of CAMH, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Yuliya S
YS
Nikolova
Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Science, "G.d'Annunzio" University of Chieti, and ITAB-Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies, Chieti, Italy.
Mauro Gianni
MG
Perrucci
Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK.|Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Science, "G.d'Annunzio" University of Chieti, and ITAB-Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies, Chieti, Italy.
Marcello
M
Costantini
Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Science, "G.d'Annunzio" University of Chieti, and ITAB-Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies, Chieti, Italy.
Antonio
A
Ferretti
Department of Psychological, Humanities and Territorial Sciences, "G.d'Annunzio" University of Chieti, Chieti, Italy.
Valentina
V
Gatta
Institute of Mental Health Research, Brain and Mind Research Centre, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Zirui
Z
Huang
Russel H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.|F. M. Kirby Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD.
Richard A E
RAE
Edden
Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Qiang
Q
Yue
Department of Psychological, Humanities and Territorial Sciences, "G.d'Annunzio" University of Chieti, Chieti, Italy.
Marco
M
D'Aurora
Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute of CAMH, Toronto, ON, Canada.|Departments of Psychiatry and of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Etienne
E
Sibille
Department of Psychological, Humanities and Territorial Sciences, "G.d'Annunzio" University of Chieti, Chieti, Italy.
Liborio
L
Stuppia
Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Science, "G.d'Annunzio" University of Chieti, and ITAB-Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies, Chieti, Italy.
Gian Luca
GL
Romani
Institute of Mental Health Research, Brain and Mind Research Centre, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Georg
G
Northoff
D000328:Adult; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D000071080:Cortical Excitability / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D012569:Schizotypal Personality Disorder / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013998:Time Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055698:Touch Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism*
D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid
GABA (gamma-amminobutyric acid); excitation; functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) resting-state
                    activity; glutamate; inhibition balance; long-range temporal correlations; multilocus genetic score; multisensory perception; schizotypy