Kyle K. Xing1, 2, Condon Lau1, 2, Patrick P. Gao1, 2, Ed X. Wu1, 2
1Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging and Signal Processing, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; 2Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Extensive research has been conducted to understand how the central nervous system receives information from individual sensory channels and converts it into perceptions of sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. Neurons in the superior colliculus (SC) respond to auditory and visual inputs, but noninvasive fMRI studies have only observed visual responses. In this study, we apply BOLD fMRI on rats to measure the hemodynamic responses in the SC and inferior colliculus following auditory and visual stimulation. Responses are observed in the SC during both stimuli, providing the first fMRI evidence of auditory-visual convergence in the SC.