Dataset Information

Cross-modal transfer in visual and nonvisual cues in bumblebees.

ABSTRACT: Bumblebees Bombus terrestris are good at learning to distinguish between patterned flowers. They can differentiate between flowers that differ only in their patterning of scent, surface texture, temperature, or electrostatic charge, in addition to visual patterns. As recently shown, bumblebees trained to discriminate between nonvisual scent patterns can transfer this learning to visually patterned flowers that show similar spatial patterning to the learnt scent patterns. Bumblebees can, therefore, transfer learnt patterns between different sensory modalities, without needing to relearn them. We used differential conditioning techniques to explore whether cross-modal transfer of learnt patterns also occurred between visual and temperature patterns. Bumblebees that successfully learnt to distinguish rewarding and unrewarding temperature patterns did not show any preferences for the corresponding unlearnt visual pattern. Similarly, bumblebees that learnt visual patterns did not transfer these to temperature patterns, suggesting that they are unable to transfer learning of temperature and visual patterns. We discuss how cross-modality pattern learning may be limited to modalities that have potentially strong neurological links, such as the previously demonstrated transfer between scent and visual patterns.

SUBMITTER: Harrap MJM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6579774 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Cross-modal transfer in visual and nonvisual cues in bumblebees.

Harrap Michael J M MJM Lawson David A DA Whitney Heather M HM Rands Sean A SA

Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology 20190311 3

Bumblebees Bombus terrestris are good at learning to distinguish between patterned flowers. They can differentiate between flowers that differ only in their patterning of scent, surface texture, temperature, or electrostatic charge, in addition to visual patterns. As recently shown, bumblebees trained to discriminate between nonvisual scent patterns can transfer this learning to visually patterned flowers that show similar spatial patterning to the learnt scent patterns. Bumblebees can, therefor ...[more]

PMID: 30859258

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Project description:BackgroundVisual cross-modal re-organization is a neurophysiological process that occurs in deafness. The intact sensory modality of vision recruits cortical areas from the deprived sensory modality of audition. Such compensatory plasticity is documented in deaf adults and animals, and is related to deficits in speech perception performance in cochlear-implanted adults. However, it is unclear whether visual cross-modal re-organization takes place in cochlear-implanted children and whether it may be a source of variability contributing to speech and language outcomes. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine if visual cross-modal re-organization occurs in cochlear-implanted children, and whether it is related to deficits in speech perception performance.MethodsVisual evoked potentials (VEPs) were recorded via high-density EEG in 41 normal hearing children and 14 cochlear-implanted children, aged 5-15 years, in response to apparent motion and form change. Comparisons of VEP amplitude and latency, as well as source localization results, were conducted between the groups in order to view evidence of visual cross-modal re-organization. Finally, speech perception in background noise performance was correlated to the visual response in the implanted children.ResultsDistinct VEP morphological patterns were observed in both the normal hearing and cochlear-implanted children. However, the cochlear-implanted children demonstrated larger VEP amplitudes and earlier latency, concurrent with activation of right temporal cortex including auditory regions, suggestive of visual cross-modal re-organization. The VEP N1 latency was negatively related to speech perception in background noise for children with cochlear implants.ConclusionOur results are among the first to describe cross modal re-organization of auditory cortex by the visual modality in deaf children fitted with cochlear implants. Our findings suggest that, as a group, children with cochlear implants show evidence of visual cross-modal recruitment, which may be a contributing source of variability in speech perception outcomes with their implant.

Project description:When the brain tries to acquire an elaborate model of the world, multisensory integration should contribute to building predictions based on the various pieces of information, and deviance detection should repeatedly update these predictions by detecting "errors" from the actual sensory inputs. Accumulating evidence such as a hierarchical organization of the deviance-detection system indicates that the deviance-detection system can be interpreted in the predictive coding framework. Herein, we targeted mismatch negativity (MMN) as a type of prediction-error signal and investigated the relationship between multisensory integration and MMN. In particular, we studied whether and how cross-modal information processing affected MMN in rodents. We designed a new surface microelectrode array and simultaneously recorded visual and auditory evoked potentials from the visual and auditory cortices of rats under anesthesia. Then, we mapped MMNs for five types of deviant stimuli: single-modal deviants in (i) the visual oddball and (ii) auditory oddball paradigms, eliciting single-modal MMN; (iii) congruent audio-visual deviants, (iv) incongruent visual deviants, and (v) incongruent auditory deviants in the audio-visual oddball paradigm, eliciting cross-modal MMN. First, we demonstrated that visual MMN exhibited deviance detection properties and that the first-generation focus of visual MMN was localized in the visual cortex, as previously reported in human studies. Second, a comparison of MMN amplitudes revealed a non-linear relationship between single-modal and cross-modal MMNs. Moreover, congruent audio-visual MMN exhibited characteristics of both visual and auditory MMNs-its latency was similar to that of auditory MMN, whereas local blockage of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptors in the visual cortex diminished it as well as visual MMN. These results indicate that cross-modal information processing affects MMN without involving strong top-down effects, such as those of prior knowledge and attention. The present study is the first electrophysiological evidence of cross-modal MMN in animal models, and future studies on the neural mechanisms combining multisensory integration and deviance detection are expected to provide electrophysiological evidence to confirm the links between MMN and predictive coding theory.

Project description:Evidence of visual-auditory cross-modal plasticity in deaf individuals has been widely reported. Superior visual abilities of deaf individuals have been shown to result in enhanced reactivity to visual events and/or enhanced peripheral spatial attention. The goal of this study was to investigate the association between visual-auditory cross-modal plasticity and speech perception in post-lingually deafened, adult cochlear implant (CI) users. Post-lingually deafened adults with CIs (N = 14) and a group of normal hearing, adult controls (N = 12) participated in this study. The CI participants were divided into a good performer group (good CI, N = 7) and a poor performer group (poor CI, N = 7) based on word recognition scores. Visual evoked potentials (VEP) were recorded from the temporal and occipital cortex to assess reactivity. Visual field (VF) testing was used to assess spatial attention and Goldmann perimetry measures were analyzed to identify differences across groups in the VF. The association of the amplitude of the P1 VEP response over the right temporal or occipital cortex among three groups (control, good CI, poor CI) was analyzed. In addition, the association between VF by different stimuli and word perception score was evaluated. The P1 VEP amplitude recorded from the right temporal cortex was larger in the group of poorly performing CI users than the group of good performers. The P1 amplitude recorded from electrodes near the occipital cortex was smaller for the poor performing group. P1 VEP amplitude in right temporal lobe was negatively correlated with speech perception outcomes for the CI participants (r = -0.736, P = 0.003). However, P1 VEP amplitude measures recorded from near the occipital cortex had a positive correlation with speech perception outcome in the CI participants (r = 0.775, P = 0.001). In VF analysis, CI users showed narrowed central VF (VF to low intensity stimuli). However, their far peripheral VF (VF to high intensity stimuli) was not different from the controls. In addition, the extent of their central VF was positively correlated with speech perception outcome (r = 0.669, P = 0.009). Persistent visual activation in right temporal cortex even after CI causes negative effect on outcome in post-lingual deaf adults. We interpret these results to suggest that insufficient intra-modal (visual) compensation by the occipital cortex may cause negative effects on outcome. Based on our results, it appears that a narrowed central VF could help identify CI users with poor outcomes with their device.

Dataset Information

Cross-modal transfer in visual and nonvisual cues in bumblebees.

Publications

Cross-modal transfer in visual and nonvisual cues in bumblebees.

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