RhinalMultiSense · Circuits for multisensory integration in the perirhinal cortex
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2020-05-01 → 2022-04-30
- EU contribution
- €214,159
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-RI
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Results in brief
Circuits for multisensory integration in the perirhinal cortex
Our actions depend on the continuous processing of information from different senses (e.g., vision, touch, smell). The mechanisms by which the brain combines information from different sensory modalities is called multisensory processing. Multisensory processing allows us to focus our attention on a particular speaker in a crowded room by combining auditory inputs from the speech and visual inputs from the mouth movements. Multisensory processing is fundamental in object recognition, which is the mechanism that allows our brain to recognize objects in the environment and act upon them appropriately. In the context of object recognition, different sensory inputs are combined to create a unique neural representation of objects. However, we can also recognize the same object with different sensory modalities. For example, we can recognize a pencil in our backpack by looking into it (vision) or by searching with our hands (touch). This ability depends on a multisensory representation of the pen in our brain. The perirhinal cortex is a high order association area involved in object recognition. It receives information from all sensory modalities. The aim of the RhinalMultiSense project was to unveil the circuits of perirhinal cortex involved in sensory and multisensory processing. To achieve this goal, I combined neuroanatomical tracing to map the sensory inputs of perirhinal cortex along its rostro-caudal axis. These experiments revealed the origin of sensory inputs to perirhinal cortex and their topographic organization. I then used in vitro electrophysiology coupled with optogenetics to test the circuits involved in processing tactile inputs in perirhinal cortex. The results of RhinalMultiSense will be fundamental to resolve the mechanisms of multisensory object recognition in the cortex.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
While watching a movie or listening to a friend, our brain integrates information from all the senses to build a coherent neural representation of the experience. This allows our brain to assign a voice to each character in the movie and localize it in the visual space, or to anticipate the meaning of our friend’s speech from hers lip movements. This function of the brain is called multisensory integration (MSI) and is a core function of the nervous system. In the mammalian cortex, MSI occurs in associative areas such as prefrontal cortex, posterior parietal cortex and perirhinal cortex (PER). The role of PER in MSI is supported by neuroanatomical data, however the investigation of the circuits underlying MSI in PER has been hampered by technical limitations in manipulating neurons processing a specific information. In RhinalMultiSense I will combine novel technological tools to disentangle the architecture of MSI in PER. I will combine engram technology and viral tracing to describe the inputs impinging onto perirhinal neurons activated by a specific modality. I will then combine engram technology and optogenetics to investigate the output connectivity of these neurons. The results of RhinalMultiSense will inspire new hypothesis and investigation on the function of PER circuits in sensory processing in health and disease.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNU · TrondheimCoordinatorNorway
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union