Auditory/Somatosensory Interactions

This article covers the convergence of auditory and somatosensory information at various levels of the auditory nervous system, from the brain stem and midbrain to the cortex. In the auditory cortex, multisensory neurons are found in the border regions surrounding the auditory cortex, and are capable of integrating information from each modality. Similarly, the external nucleus of the inferior colliculus plays a predominant role in integrating somatosensory and auditory inputs, as do the shell regions of the cochlear nucleus (CN) that surround the core regions. Examples of anatomical convergence to each of these areas from somatosensory nuclei are provided as well as physiological descriptions of how this information is integrated.