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J Neurophysiol (May 2, 2007). doi:10.1152/jn.00173.2007
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Submitted on February 15, 2007
Accepted on May 1, 2007

Multisensory Processing in ‘Unimodal’ Neurons: Cross-Modal Subthreshold Auditory Effects in Cat Extrastriate Visual Cortex

Brian L Allman1* and M. Alex Meredith1

1 Anatomy & Neurobiology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ballman2{at}vcu.edu.

Historically, the study of multisensory processing has examined the function of the definitive neuron type, the bimodal neuron. These neurons are excited by inputs from more than one sensory modality and, when multisensory stimuli are present, they can integrate their responses in a predictable manner. However, recent studies have revealed that multisensory processing in the cortex is not restricted to bimodal neurons. The present investigation sought to examine the potential for multisensory processing in non-bimodal (‘unimodal’) neurons in the retinotopically-organized posterolateral lateral suprasylvian (PLLS) area of the cat. Standard extracellular recordings were used to measure responses of all neurons encountered to both separate- and combined-modality stimulation. While bimodal neurons behaved as predicted, the surprising result was that 16% of ‘unimodal’ visual neurons encountered were significantly facilitated by auditory stimuli. Because these ‘unimodal’ visual neurons did not respond to an auditory stimulus presented alone, but had their visual responses modulated by concurrent auditory stimulation, they represent a new form of multisensory neuron: the subthreshold multisensory neuron. These data also demonstrate that bimodal neurons can no longer be regarded as the exclusive basis for multisensory processing.




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