Somatosensory Input to Auditory Association Cortex in the Macaque Monkey

• DOI: 10.1152/jn.2001.85.3.1322
• Publication Date: 2017-12-21T05:14:09Z
• Authors: Charles E. Schroeder; Robert W. Lindsley; Colleen Specht; Alvin Marcovici; John F. Smiley; Daniel C. Javitt
• Keywords: Magnetoencephalography; Secondary somatosensory cortex; Stimulus (psychology)

We investigated the convergence of somatosensory and auditory inputs in within subregions macaque cortex. Laminar current source density multiunit activity profiles were sampled with linear array multielectrodes during penetrations posterior superior temporal plane three monkeys. At each recording site, responses to binaural clicks, pure tones, band-passed noise, all presented by earphones, compared evoked contralateral median nerve stimulation. Subjects awake but not required discriminate stimuli. Borders between A1 surrounding belt regions identified mapping best frequency stimulus preferences subsequent histological analysis. Regions immediately caudomedial had robust co-represented responses. In these regions, both response “feedforward” patterns; initial excitation beginning Lamina 4 spreading extragranular laminae. Auditory displayed a high degree overlap. Anatomical reconstruction indicated that input region includes, may be restricted to, association As was earlier reported for this region, tuning curves broad noise larger than tone No observed A1. These findings suggest potential neural substrate multisensory integration at an early stage cortical processing.