This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My File Cabinet Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (38) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wallace, M. T. Articles by Stein, B. E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Wallace, M. T. Articles by Stein, B. E. Social Bookmarking                What's this?

 Previous Article  | Table of Contents |  Next Article 

Neuroscience
A revised view of sensory cortical parcellation

Mark T. Wallace ^* , Ramnarayan Ramachandran , and Barry E. Stein ^*

^*Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157; and Department of Physiology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143

Edited by Marcus E. Raichle, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, and approved December 4, 2003 (received for review September 5, 2003)

Traditional cortical parcellation schemes have emphasized the presence of sharply defined visual, auditory, and somatosensory domains populated exclusively by modality-specific neurons (i.e., neurons responsive to sensory stimuli from a single sensory modality). However, the modality-exclusivity of this scheme has recently been challenged. Observations in a variety of species suggest that each of these domains is subject to influences from other senses. Using the cerebral cortex of the rat as a model, the present study systematically examined the capability of individual neurons in visual, auditory, and somatosensory cortex to be activated by stimuli from other senses. Within the major modality-specific domains, the incidence of inappropriate (i.e., nonmatching) and/or multisensory neurons was very low. However, at the borders between each of these domains a concentration of multisensory neurons was found whose modality profile matched the representations in neighboring cortices and that were able to integrate their cross-modal inputs to give rise to enhanced and/or depressed responses. The results of these studies are consistent with some features of both the traditional and challenging views of cortical organization, and they suggest a parcellation scheme in which modality-specific cortical domains are separated from one another by transitional multisensory zones.

To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mwallace{at}wfubmc.edu.

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles in HighWire Press-hosted journals:

				B. N. Carriere, D. W. Royal, and M. T. Wallace Spatial Heterogeneity of Cortical Receptive Fields and Its Impact on Multisensory Interactions J Neurophysiol, May 1, 2008; 99(5): 2357 - 2368. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. N. Carriere, D. W. Royal, T. J. Perrault, S. P. Morrison, J. W. Vaughan, B. E. Stein, and M. T. Wallace Visual Deprivation Alters the Development of Cortical Multisensory Integration J Neurophysiol, November 1, 2007; 98(5): 2858 - 2867. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. K. Bizley, F. R. Nodal, V. M. Bajo, I. Nelken, and A. J. King Physiological and Anatomical Evidence for Multisensory Interactions in Auditory Cortex Cereb Cortex, September 1, 2007; 17(9): 2172 - 2189. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Martuzzi, M. M. Murray, C. M. Michel, J.-P. Thiran, P. P. Maeder, S. Clarke, and R. A. Meuli Multisensory Interactions within Human Primary Cortices Revealed by BOLD Dynamics Cereb Cortex, July 1, 2007; 17(7): 1672 - 1679. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. T. Wallace, B. N. Carriere, T. J. Perrault Jr, J. W. Vaughan, and B. E. Stein The Development of Cortical Multisensory Integration. J. Neurosci., November 15, 2006; 26(46): 11844 - 11849. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Kupers, A. Fumal, A. M. de Noordhout, A. Gjedde, J. Schoenen, and M. Ptito Transcranial magnetic stimulation of the visual cortex induces somatotopically organized qualia in blind subjects PNAS, August 29, 2006; 103(35): 13256 - 13260. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Molholm, P. Sehatpour, A. D. Mehta, M. Shpaner, M. Gomez-Ramirez, S. Ortigue, J. P. Dyke, T. H. Schwartz, and J. J. Foxe Audio-Visual Multisensory Integration in Superior Parietal Lobule Revealed by Human Intracranial Recordings J Neurophysiol, August 1, 2006; 96(2): 721 - 729. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. A. HODGES, W D. HAIRSTON, and J. H. BURDETTE Aspects of Multisensory Perception: The Integration of Visual and Auditory Information in Musical Experiences Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., December 1, 2005; 1060(1): 175 - 185. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. R. Menzel and D. S. Barth Multisensory and Secondary Somatosensory Cortex in the Rat Cereb Cortex, November 1, 2005; 15(11): 1690 - 1696. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. J. Perrault Jr., J. W. Vaughan, B. E. Stein, and M. T. Wallace Superior Colliculus Neurons Use Distinct Operational Modes in the Integration of Multisensory Stimuli J Neurophysiol, May 1, 2005; 93(5): 2575 - 2586. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. van Wassenhove, K. W. Grant, and D. Poeppel Visual speech speeds up the neural processing of auditory speech PNAS, January 25, 2005; 102(4): 1181 - 1186. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Current Issue | Archives | Online Submission | Info for Authors | Editorial Board | About Subscribe | Advertise | Contact | Site Map Copyright © 2004 by the National Academy of Sciences