Uta Noppeney | “To integrate or not to integrate: Solving the binding problem in a multisensory world”
Systems and cognitive neuroscience \ Manfred Eigen lecture theatre
Adaptive behavior in a complex, dynamic, and multisensory world requires the brain to solve the causal inference or binding problem, deciding whether signals come from common sources and should hence be integrated or from independent sources and be segregated. In this talk, I will delve into our recent research, spanning behavioral, computational, and neural systems levels, to explore how the brain tackles this challenge. Combining psychophysics, computational modelling and neuroimaging (fMRI, EEG) our results show that the brain arbitrates between sensory integration and segregation consistent with the principles of Bayesian Causal Inference by dynamically encoding multiple perceptual estimates across the cortical hierarchy. Next, I will explore how prior expectations and attentional mechanisms can modulate sensory integration.