Proposed experiments investigate the neural systems by which stimuli are bound across modalities to form a unitary percept of the world. We will investigate the cortical regions which contribute to these intersensory interactions in both humans and monkeys. In humans, we will test patients with focal cortical lesions for deficits in their ability to integrate multimodal stimuli, and explore electrophysiological correlates of multi- sensory integration in patients being monitored with intracranial electrodes. In an extension of our research on """"""""blindsight"""""""", we will also determine whether the tectopulvinar visual pathway can support visual auditory interactions by investigating whether such interactions survive in patients with scotomas due to lesions in the primary visual pathway. Two types of intersensory interaction are examined: (1) the facilitation of saccadic latencies by the combined onset of visual and auditory saccadic targets, and (2) the """"""""capture"""""""" of phenomenon of """"""""visual capture"""""""" and the lesser known phenomenon of auditory capture. To examine intersensory interactions at the cellular level, we will study the responses of single cortical neurons to multimodal stimuli in rhesus monkeys, These investigations will focus on the lateral intraparietal area (LIP) to determine the degree of alignment between spatial representations of different modalities.
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