Multisensory Integration In Action Control

The integration of multisensory information is an essential mechanism in perception and in controlling actions. Research in multisensory integration is concerned with how the information from the different sensory modalities, such as the senses of vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and proprioception, are integrated to a coherent representation of objects. Multisensory integration is central for action control. For instance, when you grasp for a rubber duck, you can see its size and hear the sound it produces. Moreover, identical physical properties of an object can be provided by different senses. You can both see and feel the size of the rubber duck. Even when you grasp for the rubber duck with a tool (e.g. with tongs), the information from the hand, from the effect points of the tool and from the eyes are integrated in a manner to act successfully. Over the recent decade a surge of interest in multisensory integration and action control has been witnessed, especially in connection with the idea that multiple sensory sources are integrated in an optimized way. For this perspective to mature, it will be helpful to delve deeper into the information processing mechanisms and their neural correlates, asking about the range and constraints of this mechanisms, about its localization and involved networks.

Behavioral, language, and reasoning are expressions of neural functions par excellence, as the brain must draw on sensory modalities to gather information on the rest of the body and on the outer world. Cortical areas processing the identity and location of the sensory inputs were once thought to be organized, with some branches dedicated to complex features. Yet current studies have uncovered synergistic effects at early-stage cognitions as well as higher-level association areas. A less hierarchical functional architecture of the brain has emerged such that, irrespective of sensory modality, inputs are assigned to the best suited cortical substrate.

This volume of Progess in Brain Research follows on from the 32nd International Symposium of the Groupe de recherche sur le système nerveux central (GRSNC), May 2010, and aims to provide an overview of the various neural mechanisms that contribute to learning new motor and sensory skills, and to adapting to changed circumstances, including the use of devices and implants to substitute for lost sensory or motor abilities (brain machine interfaces). The focus is on recent developments covering five major themes: Mechanisms to improve motor performance Neuro-rehabilitation of motor function Mechanisms to enhance sensory perception Cross modal interationc for enhancing sensorimotor performance Assistive technologies to enhance sensorimotor performance Leading authors review the state-of-the-art in their field of investigation and provide their views and perspectives for future research Chapters are extensively referenced to provide readers with a comprehensive list of resources on the topics covered All chapters include comprehensive background information and are written in a clear form that is also accessible to the non-specialist

It has become accepted in the neuroscience community that perception and performance are quintessentially multisensory by nature. Using the full palette of modern brain imaging and neuroscience methods, The Neural Bases of Multisensory Processes details current understanding in the neural bases for these phenomena as studied across species, stages of development, and clinical statuses. Organized thematically into nine sub-sections, the book is a collection of contributions by leading scientists in the field. Chapters build generally from basic to applied, allowing readers to ascertain how fundamental science informs the clinical and applied sciences. Topics discussed include: Anatomy, essential for understanding the neural substrates of multisensory processing Neurophysiological bases and how multisensory stimuli can dramatically change the encoding processes for sensory information Combinatorial principles and modeling, focusing on efforts to gain a better mechanistic handle on multisensory operations and their network dynamics Development and plasticity Clinical manifestations and how perception and action are affected by altered sensory experience Attention and spatial representations The last sections of the book focus on naturalistic multisensory processes in three separate contexts: motion signals, multisensory contributions to the perception and generation of communication signals, and how the perception of flavor is generated. The text provides a solid introduction for newcomers and a strong overview of the current state of the field for experts.

Enhancing performance for action and perception.

Research is suggesting that rather than our senses being independent, perception is fundamentally a multisensory experience. This handbook reviews the evidence and explores the theory of broad underlying principles that govern sensory interactions, regardless of the specific senses involved.

The major reference work for a rapidly advancing field synthesizes central themes, reports on current findings, and offers a blueprint for future research. Scientists' attempts to understand the physiology underlying our apprehension of the physical world was long dominated by a focus on the individual senses. The 1980s saw the beginning of systematic efforts to examine interactions among different sensory modalities at the level of the single neuron. And by the end of the 1990s, a recognizable and multidisciplinary field of "multisensory processes" had emerged. More recently, studies involving both human and nonhuman subjects have focused on relationships among multisensory neuronal ensembles and their behavioral, perceptual, and cognitive correlates. The New Handbook of Multisensory Processing synthesizes the central themes in this rapidly developing area, reports on current findings, and offers a blueprint for future research. The contributions, all of them written for this volume by leading experts, reflect the evolution and current state of the field. This handbook does more than simply review the field. Each of the volume's eleven sections broadly surveys a major topic, and each begins with a substantive and thought-provoking commentary by the section editor that identifies the major issues being explored, describes their treatment in the chapters that follow, and sets these findings within the context of the existing body of knowledge. Together, the commentaries and chapters provide an invaluable guide to areas of general agreement, unresolved issues, and topics that remain to be explored in this fast-moving field.