Objective The integration of information across different sensory channels is a fundamental problem that we have to solve in every moment of daily life. We will study four key aspects of multisensory processing that are currently unresolved: (1) the role of dynamic binding in multisensory experience; (2) the role of action and sensorimotor contingencies in multisensory processing; (3) the modulation of multisensory experience by top-down factors; (4) the adaptivity of these three mechanisms in conditions of altered multisensory experience. We will apply psychophysiological, behavioural and physiological approaches in studies on human subjects and combine these with advanced signal analysis approaches and computational modelling. The project objectives are: to test the role of dynamic crossmodal binding in multisensory processing; to address multisensory processing in rarely studied modalities such as pain and olfaction; to test the role of active sensorimotor exploration for multisensory experience; to study the role of top-down factors such as attention, or semantic knowledge; to address pathophysiological implications in congenitally blind subjects and synesthetes; to manipulate crossmodal interactions by application of multi-site TMS; to investigate dynamic crossmodal interactions in subjects undergoing training with an innovative sensory substitution device; to derive computational models of crossmodal integration to account for the empirical findings; and to explore the potential of our approach for enhancing human performance in application scenarios that exploit multisensory experience. Taken together, our proposal constitutes a highly innovative and systematic approach that will foster our understanding of the nature and mechanisms of unified multisensory experience. Programme(s) FP7-IDEAS-ERC - Specific programme: "Ideas" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Topic(s) ERC-AG-SH4 - ERC Advanced Grant - The Human Mind and its complexity Call for proposal ERC-2010-AdG_20100407 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-AG - ERC Advanced Grant Coordinator UNIVERSITAETSKLINIKUM HAMBURG-EPPENDORF Address Martinistrasse 52 20251 Hamburg Germany See on map Region Hamburg Hamburg Hamburg Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Principal investigator Andreas Karl Engel (Prof.) Administrative Contact Andreas Karl Engel (Prof.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window EU contribution No data Beneficiaries (2) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all UNIVERSITAETSKLINIKUM HAMBURG-EPPENDORF Germany EU contribution € 2 222 400,00 Address Martinistrasse 52 20251 Hamburg See on map Region Hamburg Hamburg Hamburg Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Principal investigator Andreas Karl Engel (Prof.) Administrative Contact Andreas Karl Engel (Prof.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Other funding No data UNIVERSITAET OSNABRUECK Germany EU contribution € 1 250 400,00 Address Neuer graben/schloss 29 49074 Osnabrueck See on map Region Niedersachsen Weser-Ems Osnabrück, Kreisfreie Stadt Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Renate Sokolowski (Ms.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Other funding No data
