Multisensory processes are fundamental in scaffolding perception, cognition, learning, and behavior. However, the structural and functional architecture that underlies the brain’s ability to seamlessly integrate a multitude of multisensory inputs is poorly understood. Across multiple scales – from molecular and cellular to network and systems levels – specialized mechanisms enable multisensory information processing. An increasing number of researchers have been focusing on unravelling these mechanisms over the past years. These studies range from neurophysiology in rodents and other common model organisms to human psychophysics. In particular, recent developments in optogenetics now open new avenues for the study of multisensory integration in the brain and analysis of the underlying neuronal circuits. The symposium addresses these questions with a broad selection of topics from the evolution of multisensory coding, the genetic regulation of multisensory thalamocortical circuits, to the influence of multisensory representations on our perception of space and self-motion. Furthermore, these questions will be spanned across multiple brain regions from thalamus and striatum to cortex and across multiple scales from insects and mouse models to humans. The symposium is organized by the Research Training Group RTG 2416 MultiSenses-MultiScales at RWTH Aachen University.

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