In a multisensory task, human adults integrate information from different sensory modalities--behaviorally in an optimal Bayesian fashion--while children mostly rely on a single sensor modality for decision making. The reason behind this change of behavior over age and the process behind learning the required statistics for optimal integration are still unclear and have not been justified by th...

Emotion perception naturally entails multisensory integration. It is also assumed that multisensory emotion perception is characterized by enhanced activation of brain areas implied in multisensory integration, such as the superior temporal gyrus and sulcus (STG/STS). However, most previous studies have employed designs and stimuli that preclude other forms of multisensory interaction, such as ...

We are just at the beginning stages of applying neuroscientific findings to music teaching. A simple model of the learning cycle based on neuroscience is Sense → Integrate → Act (sometimes modified as Act → Sense → Integrate). Additional components can be added to the model, including such concepts as active rather than passive learning, learning activates reward centers, all learning is emotio...

Although there are many perceptual theories that posit particular maturational profiles in higher-order (i.e., cortical) multisensory regions, our knowledge of multisensory development is primarily derived from studies of a midbrain structure, the superior colliculus. Therefore, the present study examined the maturation of multisensory processes in an area of cat association cortex [i.e., the a...

Past multisensory experiences can influence current unisensory processing and memory performance. Repeated images are better discriminated if initially presented as auditory-visual pairs, rather than only visually. An experience's context thus plays a role in how well repetitions of certain aspects are later recognized. Here, we investigated factors during the initial multisensory experience th...

Although our sensory experience is mostly multisensory in nature, research on working memory representations has focused mainly on examining the senses in isolation. Results from the multisensory processing literature make it clear that the senses interact on a more intimate manner than previously assumed. These interactions raise questions regarding the manner in which multisensory information...

The brain has a large capacity for automatic simultaneous processing and integration of sensory information. Combining information from different sensory modalities facilitates our ability to detect, discriminate, and recognize sensory stimuli, and learning is often optimal in a multisensory environment. Currently used multisensory stimulation methods in stroke rehabilitation include motor imag...

Experimental research has shown that pairs of stimuli which are congruent and assumed to 'go together' are recalled more effectively than an item presented in isolation. Will this multisensory memory benefit occur when stimuli are richer and longer, in an ecological setting? In the present study, we focused on an everyday situation of audio-visual learning and manipulated the relationship betwe...