Work

A cross‐modal system linking primary auditory and visual cortices: Evidence from intrinsic fMRI connectivity analysis

Year: 2008

Type: article

Abstract: Recent anatomical and electrophysiological evidence in primates indicates the presence of direct connections between primary auditory and primary visual cortex that constitute cross-modal systems. We examined the intrinsic functional connectivity (fcMRI) of putative primary auditory cortex in 32 young adults during resting state scanning. We found that the medial Heschl's gyrus was strongly coupled, in particular, to visual cortex along the anterior banks of the calcarine fissure. This observation was confirmed using novel group-level, tensor-based independent components analysis. fcMRI analysis revealed that although overall coupling between the auditory and visual cortex was significantly reduced when subjects performed a visual perception task, coupling between the anterior calcarine cortex and auditory cortex was not disrupted. These results suggest that primary auditory cortex has a functionally distinct relationship with the anterior visual cortex, which is known to represent the peripheral visual field. Our study provides novel, fcMRI-based, support for a neural system involving low-level auditory and visual cortices.

Source: Human Brain Mapping

DOI: 10.1002/hbm.20560

Authors: Mark A. Eckert, Nirav V. Kamdar, Catherine E. Chang, Christian F. Beckmann, Michael D. Greicius, Vinod Menon

Institutions: Medical University of South Carolina, Stanford Medicine, University of Oxford, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging

Language: English

Topic: Multisensory perception and integration

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Center for Research Resources, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development