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Elucidating the Neurodevelopment of Multisensory Integration in the Common Marmoset

Poster Session C - Sunday, March 8, 2026, 5:00 – 7:00 pm PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

James Wang¹ (), Tyler Cook¹, Maeva Gacoin¹, Justine Clery¹; ¹McGill University

Multisensory integration (MSI) is the ability to integrate sensory inputs from multiple modalities to efficiently perceive and navigate the environment. It is one function typically disturbed in neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). To better understand the development of MSI, there is a need for a model that develops quickly and demonstrates analogous human brain functioning. Transgenic marmoset models (Callithrix jacchus) of ASD are currently developed worldwide as the ideal primate for neurodevelopmental studies. First, it is necessary to understand typical neurodevelopment of MSI, answering this key question: How are multiple senses encoded and combined by the marmoset brain across development? I am collecting behavioral data from multisensory tasks designed to elicit MSI in conjunction with structural and functional neuroimaging. To this end, I will uncover the neurodevelopment of MSI by correlating brain activity and structure with task performance over the two-year neurodevelopmental period. I hypothesize that a similar parieto-frontal network seen in humans will activate for MSI in the common marmoset that is refined with age as well as modulated by stimuli valence and an increase in myelin content within this network. This research will have significant further impacts such as helping to characterize the neurodevelopment of ASD and other MSI-related neurological disorders in humans.

Topic Area: PERCEPTION & ACTION: Multisensory