Multisensory neural integration of chemical and mechanical signals

Chemosensation and mechanosensation cover an enormous spectrum of processes by which animals use information from the environment to adapt their behavior. For pragmatic reasons, these sensory modalities are commonly investigated independently. Recent advances, however, have revealed numerous situations in which they function together to control animals' actions. Highlighting examples from diverse vertebrates and invertebrates, we first discuss sensory receptors and neurons that have dual roles in the detection of chemical and mechanical stimuli. Next we present cases where peripheral chemosensory and mechanosensory pathways are discrete but intimately packaged to permit coordinated reception of external cues. Finally, we consider how chemical and mechanical signals converge in central neural circuitry to enable multisensory integration. These insights demonstrate how investigation of the interplay between different sensory modalities is key to a more holistic and realistic understanding of sensory-guided behaviors.

Although neuroscientists often study individual sensory modalities independently of all others, animals naturally assimilate diverse types of environmental cues to respond with an appropriate behavior. Recent work has revealed how multisensory integration of chemical and mechanical stimuli can occur through the use of common sensory receptor families, organs and circuitry.

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