Macaque claustrum, pulvinar and putative dorsolateral amygdala support the cross-modal association of social audio-visual stimuli based on meaning
Social communication draws on several cognitive functions such as perception, emotion recognition and attention. The association of audio-visual information is essential to the processing of species-specific communication signals. In this study, we use functional magnetic resonance imaging in order to identify the subcortical areas involved in the cross-modal association of visual and auditory information based on their common social meaning. We identified three subcortical regions involved in audio-visual processing of species-specific communicative signals: the dorsolateral amygdala, the claustrum and the pulvinar. These regions responded to visual, auditory congruent and audio-visual stimulations. However, none of them was significantly activated when the auditory stimuli were semantically incongruent with the visual context, thus showing an influence of visual context on auditory processing. For example, positive vocalization (coos) activated the three subcortical regions when presented in the context of positive facial expression (lipsmacks) but not when presented in the context of negative facial expression (aggressive faces). In addition, the medial pulvinar and the amygdala presented multisensory integration such that audiovisual stimuli resulted in activations that were significantly higher than those observed for the highest unimodal response. Last, the pulvinar responded in a task-dependent manner, along a specific spatial sensory gradient. We propose that the dorsolateral amygdala, the claustrum and the pulvinar belong to a multisensory network that modulates the perception of visual socioemotional information and vocalizations as a function of the relevance of the stimuli in the social context.
Socially meaningful visual context either enhances or inhibits vocalisation processing in the macaque brain
Social interactions rely on the interpretation of semantic and emotional information, often from multiple sensory modalities. Nonhuman primates send and receive auditory and visual communicative signals. However, the neural mechanisms underlying the association of visual and auditory information based on their common social meaning are unknown. Using heart rate estimates and functional neuroimaging, we show that in the lateral and superior temporal sulcus of the macaque monkey, neural responses are enhanced in response to species-specific vocalisations paired with a matching visual context, or when vocalisations follow, in time, visual information, but inhibited when vocalisation are incongruent with the visual context. For example, responses to affiliative vocalisations are enhanced when paired with affiliative contexts but inhibited when paired with aggressive or escape contexts.
How early life adversity transforms the learning brain
For educators to help children exposed to adverse life experiences, it is necessary to understand how adversity impacts different mechanisms of learning, emotion, and planning as these capacities underpin success in schools and beyond. The goal of this paper is to review essential findings on how early life adversity transforms the brain which, in turn, impacts educational outcomes. Part 1 begins by discussing the species‐specific and expectant experiences that guide typical development, and then turns to early life adversities and their relationship to both physical and mental health outcomes. Part 2 summarizes four dimensions of adversity—type, timing, term, and toxicity—and how each differentially impacts the developing brain, including individual differences in psychopathology.