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 Barry E. Stein, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
City University of New York (1971)
Our objective is to understand the neural basis by which the brain is able to integrate information from multiple senses. This process of multisensory integration is highly adaptive. It knits together information from different channels to allow the brain to amplify minimal signals and reduce ambiguity when detecting, identifying and reacting to environmental events. It is also critical to our seamless perceptual experiences. One practical objective has been to understand how the physiological properties of individual multisensory neurons, and networks of neurons, contribute to these functions. In trying to accomplish our overall aim of understanding the relationship between cellular processes and perception and behavior, we use multidisciplinary anatomical, physiological, behavioral and perceptual approaches. Our lab group has also had a longstanding interest in how the brain develops the capacity to synthesize information from different senses and, specifically, how early sensory experiences craft the circuits underlying multisensory integration to ensure that the resultant product is well adapted to the environment.
Selected Publications:
Stein, B.E., Wallace, M.T., Stanford, T.R. and Jiang, W. Cortex governs multisensory integration in the midbrain. The Neuroscientist 8: 306-314, 2002.
Jiang, W, Jiang H. and Stein, B.E. Two corticotectal areas mediate multisensory orientation behavior. J. Cognitive Neurosci. 4: 1240-1255, 2002.
Jiang, H., Stein, B.E, and McHaffie, J.G. Opposing basal ganglia processes shape midbrain visuomotor activity bilaterally. Nature 423: 982-986, 2003.
Laurienti, P.J., Wallace, M.T., Maldjian, J.A., Susi, C.M., Stein, B.E. and Burdette, J.H. Cross-modal sensory processing in the anterior cingulated and medial prefrontal cortices. Human Brain Mapping 19:213-223, 2003.
Jiang, W. and Stein, B.E. Cortex controls multisensory depression in superior colliculus. J. Neurophysiol. 90:2123-2135, 2003.
Perrault, T.P., Vaughan, J.W., Stein, B.E. and Wallace, M.T. Neuron-specific response characteristics predict the magnitude of multisensory integration. J. Neurophysiol. 90: 4022-4026, 2003.
Wallace, M.T., Ramachandran, R. and Stein, B.E. A new view of sensory cortical parcellation. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci 101(7): 2167-2172, 2004.
Wallace, M.T., Perrault, T.P., Hairston, W.D. and Stein, B.E. Visual experience is necessary for the development of multisensory integration. J. Neurosci. 24: 9580-9584, 2004.
Perrault, T.P., Vaughan, J.W., Stein, B.E., and Wallace, M.T. Superior colliculus neurons use distinct operational modes in the integration of multisensory stimuli. J. Neurophysiol. 93: 2575-2586, 2005.
Laurienti, P., Perrault, T., Jr., Stanford, T.R., Wallace, M.T., and Stein, B.E. On the use of superadditivity as a metric for characterizing multisensory integration in functional neuroimaging studies. Exp. Brain Res. 166: 289-297, 2005.
Stein, B.E. The development of a dialogue between cortex and midbrain to integrate multisensory information. Exp. Brain Res. 166: 305-315, 2005.
Stanford, T.R., Quessy, S., and Stein, B.E. Evaluating the operations underlying multisensory integration in cat superior colliculus. J. Neurosci. 25(28): 6499-6508, 2005.
McHaffie JG, TR Stanford, BE Stein, V Coizet, and P Redgrave. Subcortical loops through the basal ganglia? Trends Neurosci. 28(8): 401-407, 2005.
Gabriele, M.L., Smoot, J.E., Jiang, H., Stein, B.E., and McHaffie, J.G. Early establishment of adult-like nigrotectal architecture in the neonatal cat: A double-labeling study using carbocyanine dyes. Neuroscience 137(4): 1309-1319, 2006.
Fuentes-Santamaria, V., Stein, B.E., and McHaffie, J.G. Neurofilament proteins are preferentially expressed in descending output neurons of the cat superior colliculus: A study using SMI-32. Neuroscience 138(1): 55-68, 2006.
McHaffie, J.G., Jiang, H., May, P.J., Coizet, V., Overton, P.G., Stein, B.E., and Redgrave, P. A direct projection from the superior colliculus to substantia nigra pars compacta in the cat. Neuroscience 138(1): 221-234, 2006.
Jiang, W., Jiang, H. and Stein, B.E. Neonatal cortical ablation disrupts multisensory development in the superior colliculus. J. Neurophysiol. 95: 1380-1396, 2006.
Wallace, M.T. and Stein, B.E. Early experience determines how the senses will interact. J. Neurophysiol. (In Press), 2006.
Jiang, W., Jiang, H., Rowland, B., and Stein, B.E. Multisensory orientation behavior is disrupted by neonatal cortical ablation. J. Neurophysiol. (In Press), 2006.
Wallace, M.T., Carriere, B., Vaughan, J.W., and Stein, B.E. Development of cortical multisensory integration. J. Neurosci. (In Press), 2006.
E-mail: bestein@wfubmc.edu
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