Auditory cortex learns to discriminate audiovisual cues through selective multisensory enhancement
Multisensory object discrimination is essential in everyday life, yet the neural mechanisms underlying this process remain unclear. In this study, we trained rats to perform a two-alternative forced-choice task using both auditory and visual cues. Our findings reveal that multisensory perceptual lea...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2025-04-01
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| Series: | eLife |
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/102926 |
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| author | Song Chang Beilin Zheng Les Keniston Jinghong Xu Liping Yu |
| author_facet | Song Chang Beilin Zheng Les Keniston Jinghong Xu Liping Yu |
| author_sort | Song Chang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Multisensory object discrimination is essential in everyday life, yet the neural mechanisms underlying this process remain unclear. In this study, we trained rats to perform a two-alternative forced-choice task using both auditory and visual cues. Our findings reveal that multisensory perceptual learning actively engages auditory cortex (AC) neurons in both visual and audiovisual processing. Importantly, many audiovisual neurons in the AC exhibited experience-dependent associations between their visual and auditory preferences, displaying a unique integration model. This model employed selective multisensory enhancement for the auditory-visual pairing guiding the contralateral choice, which correlated with improved multisensory discrimination. Furthermore, AC neurons effectively distinguished whether a preferred auditory stimulus was paired with its associated visual stimulus using this distinct integrative mechanism. Our results highlight the capability of sensory cortices to develop sophisticated integrative strategies, adapting to task demands to enhance multisensory discrimination abilities. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7db994552d01481ca267f67b9f8022bb |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj-art-7db994552d01481ca267f67b9f8022bb2025-08-20T03:14:46ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2025-04-011310.7554/eLife.102926Auditory cortex learns to discriminate audiovisual cues through selective multisensory enhancementSong Chang0Beilin Zheng1Les Keniston2Jinghong Xu3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2864-4196Liping Yu4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9771-5971Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (Ministry of Education and Shanghai), School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, ChinaCollege of Information Engineering, Hangzhou Vocational and Technical College, Hangzhou, ChinaDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine, University of Pikeville, Pikeville, United StatesKey Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (Ministry of Education and Shanghai), School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, ChinaKey Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (Ministry of Education and Shanghai), School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, ChinaMultisensory object discrimination is essential in everyday life, yet the neural mechanisms underlying this process remain unclear. In this study, we trained rats to perform a two-alternative forced-choice task using both auditory and visual cues. Our findings reveal that multisensory perceptual learning actively engages auditory cortex (AC) neurons in both visual and audiovisual processing. Importantly, many audiovisual neurons in the AC exhibited experience-dependent associations between their visual and auditory preferences, displaying a unique integration model. This model employed selective multisensory enhancement for the auditory-visual pairing guiding the contralateral choice, which correlated with improved multisensory discrimination. Furthermore, AC neurons effectively distinguished whether a preferred auditory stimulus was paired with its associated visual stimulus using this distinct integrative mechanism. Our results highlight the capability of sensory cortices to develop sophisticated integrative strategies, adapting to task demands to enhance multisensory discrimination abilities.https://elifesciences.org/articles/102926multisensory integrationauditory cortexdecision makingcortical plasticity |
| spellingShingle | Song Chang Beilin Zheng Les Keniston Jinghong Xu Liping Yu Auditory cortex learns to discriminate audiovisual cues through selective multisensory enhancement eLife multisensory integration auditory cortex decision making cortical plasticity |
| title | Auditory cortex learns to discriminate audiovisual cues through selective multisensory enhancement |
| title_full | Auditory cortex learns to discriminate audiovisual cues through selective multisensory enhancement |
| title_fullStr | Auditory cortex learns to discriminate audiovisual cues through selective multisensory enhancement |
| title_full_unstemmed | Auditory cortex learns to discriminate audiovisual cues through selective multisensory enhancement |
| title_short | Auditory cortex learns to discriminate audiovisual cues through selective multisensory enhancement |
| title_sort | auditory cortex learns to discriminate audiovisual cues through selective multisensory enhancement |
| topic | multisensory integration auditory cortex decision making cortical plasticity |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/102926 |
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