A function-based mapping of sensory integration along the cortical hierarchy
Sensory information mainly travels along a hierarchy spanning unimodal to transmodal regions, forming multisensory integrative representations crucial for higher-order cognitive functions. Here, we develop an fMRI based two-dimensional framework to characterize sensory integration based on the anchoring role of the primary cortex in the organization of sensory processing. Sensory magnitude captures the percentage of variance explained by three primary sensory signals and decreases as the hierarchy ascends, exhibiting strong similarity to the known hierarchy and high stability across different conditions. Sensory angle converts associations with three primary sensory signals to an angle representing the proportional contributions of different sensory modalities. This dimension identifies differences between brain states and emphasizes how sensory integration changes flexibly in response to varying cognitive demands. Furthermore, meta-analytic functional decoding with our model highlights the close relationship between cognitive functions and sensory integration, showing its potential for future research of human cognition through sensory information processing.
Authors
- Daniel S. Margulies (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8880-9204)
- Tamara Vanderwal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8774-9430)
- Ulysse Klatzmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6226-5877)
- Francesco Alberti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5732-8224)
- R. Austin Benn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3728-7036)
- Rocco Chiou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3009-8075)
- Robert Scholz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7061-4882)
- Demián Wassermann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5194-6056)
- Jonathan Smallwood (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7298-2459)
- Victoria Shevchenko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5640-7956)
- Wei Wei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7671-282X)
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Queen's University (CA)
- Université Paris Cité (FR)
- Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR)
- Université Paris-Saclay (FR)
- University of Surrey (GB)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Sorbonne Paris Cité (FR)
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (GB)
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives (FR)
- Centre Inria de Saclay (FR)
- CEA Paris-Saclay (FR)
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (DE)
- BC Children's Hospital (CA)
- Leipzig University (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Biology
- Published
- 2024-11-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-07224-z
- Citations
- 8
- Primary Topic
- Neural dynamics and brain function
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.74
Funders
- Wellcome Trust
- National Institute for Health and Care Research
- Department of Health and Social Care
- European Commission
- China Scholarship Council