We study multisensory integration and crossmodal plasticity in the brain

Traditionally, vision, audition, and touch have been understood to be isolated sensations.  Yet, in daily experience all the senses are blended into one holistic perception.  In other words, the ocean is not seen, then smelled, and then felt.  Rather the ocean’s soft blue hue enhances the salty flavor in the air. The tranquil lapping of the waves softens the sand’s grainy embrace.  

As recent studies have shown evidence for extensive multisensory or crossmodal interactions in the brain and behavior, the model of isolated sensations has become increasingly outdated, and a new model of dense sensory interactions has developed.

Our research focuses on the study of these multimodal interactions, in particular, investigating how sensations cooperate with each other, resolve conflicting signals, and change when one sense is removed or restored. This multimodal research has a few primary concentrations of study, as outlined in the pages below.