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Neurosensory development of the four brainstem-projecting sensory systems and their integration in the telencephalon
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Neurosensory development of the four brainstem-projecting sensory systems and their integration in the telencephalon

Bernd Fritzsch, Karen L. Elliott and Ebenezer N. Yamoah
Frontiers in neural circuits, Vol.16, 913480
09/01/2022
DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2022.913480
PMCID: PMC9539932
PMID: 36213204
url
https://doi.org/10.3389/fncir.2022.913480View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Somatosensory, taste, vestibular, and auditory information is first processed in the brainstem. From the brainstem, the respective information is relayed to specific regions within the cortex, where these inputs are further processed and integrated with other sensory systems to provide a comprehensive sensory experience. We provide the organization, genetics, and various neuronal connections of four sensory systems: trigeminal, taste, vestibular, and auditory systems. The development of trigeminal fibers is comparable to many sensory systems, for they project mostly contralaterally from the brainstem or spinal cord to the telencephalon. Taste bud information is primarily projected ipsilaterally through the thalamus to reach the insula. The vestibular fibers develop bilateral connections that eventually reach multiple areas of the cortex to provide a complex map. The auditory fibers project in a tonotopic contour to the auditory cortex. The spatial and tonotopic organization of trigeminal and auditory neuron projections are distinct from the taste and vestibular systems. The individual sensory projections within the cortex provide multi-sensory integration in the telencephalon that depends on context-dependent tertiary connections to integrate other cortical sensory systems across the four modalities.
brainstem organization midbrain sensory map sensory neurons telencephalon thalamus

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