Multisensory Integration: Is Medial Prefrontal Cortex Signaling Relevant for the Treatment of Higher-Order Visual Dysfunctions?

Miguel Skirzewski,Luis F Hernandez,Stéphane Molotchnikoff,José Fernando Maya-Vetencourt

doi:10.3389/fnmol.2021.806376

Abstract

In the mammalian brain, information processing in sensory modalities and global mechanisms of multisensory integration facilitate perception. Emerging experimental evidence suggests that the contribution of multisensory integration to sensory perception is far more complex than previously expected. Here we revise how associative areas such as the prefrontal cortex, which receive and integrate inputs from diverse sensory modalities, can affect information processing in unisensory systems via processes of down-stream signaling. We focus our attention on the influence of the medial prefrontal cortex on the processing of information in the visual system and whether this phenomenon can be clinically used to treat higher-order visual dysfunctions. We propose that non-invasive and multisensory stimulation strategies such as environmental enrichment and/or attention-related tasks could be of clinical relevance to fight cerebral visual impairment.

Highlights

The integration of sensory information underlies a coherent perception of the environment
When monkeys decide whether a conspecific should receive rewards, neuronal activity synchronization between the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the anterior cingulate gyrus (ACCg) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is enhanced in the beta and gamma frequency bands but not in cases of anti-social decisions (Dal Monte et al, 2020)
Anatomical projections between the ACCg and BLA have been described (Klavir et al, 2013) and studies in primates using a rewardallocation task demonstrated that there are neurons in the ACCg that encode reward allocations to other conspecifics (Chang et al, 2013). Another example of multisensory integration that subserves behavior is represented by the observation that amygdala projections to the medial PFC seem to regulate anxiety

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The integration of sensory information underlies a coherent perception of the environment. When monkeys decide whether a conspecific should receive rewards, neuronal activity synchronization between the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the anterior cingulate gyrus (ACCg) in the PFC is enhanced in the beta and gamma frequency bands but not in cases of anti-social decisions (Dal Monte et al, 2020) This points toward a facilitating role for inter-regional synchrony in primate social behavior. Anatomical projections between the ACCg and BLA have been described (Klavir et al, 2013) and studies in primates using a rewardallocation task demonstrated that there are neurons in the ACCg that encode reward allocations to other conspecifics (Chang et al, 2013) Another example of multisensory integration that subserves behavior is represented by the observation that amygdala projections to the medial PFC (mPFC) seem to regulate anxiety. Optogenetically inhibiting ACC-BLA projections prevents this behavioral phenomenon in rodents (Allsop et al, 2018)

Multisensory Integration in the Brain

Neuromodulators and Neuronal Networks Interactions

DISCUSSION