Fig. 11. New emergent behaviors in the mature neurons in case of trainings with low cross-modal input statistics.
The figures show the dynamic ranges of two SC neurons at the end of a simulated development in which the network has been trained with less than 60% cross-modal inputs. The upper panel reports the responses of a visual neuron, which does not show any integrative capability: a cross-modal stimulation elicits a response no stronger than the activity elicited by a visual stimulus. The lower panel shows the responses of a mature SC neuron which responds only to the auditory modality (visual inputs are almost ineffective), but when a visual stimulus is paired with an auditory one, the neuron presents a clear enhancement of its evoked activity. This neuron can be defined unisensory, but with integrative capabilities acquired along its maturation.