A cellular mechanism for inverse effectiveness in multisensory integration.
To build a coherent view of the external world, an organism needs to integrate multiple types of sensory information from different sources, a process known as multisensory integration (MSI). Previously, we showed that the temporal dependence of MSI in the optic tectum ofXenopus laevistadpoles is mediated by the network dynamics of the recruitment of local inhibition by sensory input (Felch et al., 2016). This was one of the first cellular-level mechanisms described for MSI. Here, we expand this cellular level view of MSI by focusing on the principle of inverse effectiveness, another central feature of MSI stating that the amount of multisensory enhancement observed inversely depends on the size of unisensory responses. We show that non-linear summation of crossmodal synaptic responses, mediated by NMDA-type glutamate receptor (NMDARs) activation, form the cellular basis for inverse effectiveness, both at the cellular and behavioral levels.
Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, United States.
Torrey Ls
0000-0001-9572-8851
TL
Truszkowski
Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, United States.
Oscar A
OA
Carrillo
Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, United States.
Julia
J
Bleier
Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, United States.
Carolina M
CM
Ramirez-Vizcarrondo
Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, United States.
Daniel L
DL
Felch
Bard College, Annandale-On-Hudson, Unied States.
Molly
M
McQuillan
Roger Williams University, Bristol, United States.
Christopher P
CP
Truszkowski
Bard College, Annandale-On-Hudson, Unied States.
Arseny S
0000-0002-0429-1728
AS
Khakhalin
Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, United States.
Carlos D
0000-0002-7378-7217
CD
Aizenman
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000818:Animals; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / Q000502:physiology*; D007814:Larva / Q000502:physiology*; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000502:physiology*; D013477:Superior Colliculi / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014982:Xenopus laevis
D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate
NMDA; multisensory; neural circuits; neuroscience; optic tectum; visual development; xenopus