Talk by Prof. Christoph Kayser (CSN Virtual Seminar)

We hereby announce the next talk in the 'CSN Virtual Seminar':

How multisensory perception is shaped by causal inference and serial effects

by Prof. Christoph Kayser, Universität Bielefeld

Abstract

Being able to adaptively navigate our complex environment requires that our brain flexibly selects and combine cues that arise from a common origin whilst avoiding distraction from irrelevant inputs. We asked how the brain implements such inference process by studying the combination of audio-visual information in ventriloquist-like tasks, both within a trial and between trials.  We find that within-trial integration is mediated by a systematic spatio-temporal cascade of the relevant computations, starting with early segregated unisensory representations, continuing with sensory fusion in parietal-temporal regions and culminating as causal inference in the frontal lobe. In particular, inferior frontal regions guide flexible integration based on the context-dependent causal inference within a trial. The adaptive between trial recalibration of perception based on multisensory evidence was mediated by medial parietal regions, which integration information within and between trials and provide a history-dependent influence on perceptual decisions. Interestingly, when looking at an aging population, these history dependent influences seem to shift away from a sensory-driven to a response-driven pattern, suggesting that these some of these mechanisms driving adaptive behaviour change with age.