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The Beauchamp Lab studies the neural mechanisms for multisensory integration and visual perception in human subjects. Many complex tasks require us to integrate information from multiple modalities. For instance, when trying to understanding spoken language, we make use of both the auditory information we hear from the spoken speech and the visual information from the facial movements of the talker. Multisensory integration is especially important under conditions in which one modality is degraded, such as when conversing in a noisy room. While we primarily study healthy young adults, we are also interested in examining other populations. For instance, very young children use primarily the auditory information to understand language, but in normal development children learn to associate mouth movements with speech and the visual speech information becomes more important. As hearing declines with age, visual information becomes even more important. Deaf children are commonly implanted with a cochlear implant to allow them to hear, but the lack of auditory input to multisensory areas at a young age sometimes prevents them from from properly integrating the auditory and visual speech information. To understand the neural basis of multisensory integration, the primary method used is blood-oxygen level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI). fMRI experiments are conducted using the research-dedicated 3 tesla scanner in the UT MRI Center adjacent to the lab. Because of the limited temporal and spatial resolution of fMRI, we often combine it with other methods. Our main supplemental technique is transcranial magnetic stimulation, which temporarily inactivates a region of the brain. By combining fMRI and TMS in the same subject, we can determine if a region of activity observed in fMRI is truly important for the cognitive operation of interest. Electrical recording from patients implanted with electrodes for the treatment of medically intractable epilepsy is also an important tool to understand multisensory integration and visual perception, because it allows direct recording of the activity of small populations of neurons, as opposed to the indirect nature of the BOLD signal. Anatomically, the primary focus of the lab is on the superior temporal sulcus, a brain area critical for both the integration of auditory, visual, and somatosensory information, and for the visual perception of complex movements.  
The Beauchamp Lab studies the neural mechanisms for multisensory integration and visual perception in human subjects; anatomically, the primary focus of the lab is on the superior temporal sulcus, a brain area critical for both the integration of auditory, visual, and somatosensory information and for the perception of complex visual motion, such as mouth movements. Many everyday tasks require us to integrate information from multiple modalities, such as during conversation when we make use of both the auditory information we hear in spoken speech and the visual information from the facial movements of the talker. Multisensory integration is especially important under conditions in which one modality is degraded, such as in a noisy room. Even in healthy young adults, there is considerable variability in people's ability to integrate auditory and visual speech, but this difference in even more pronounced when other populations are examined. Very young children rely exclusively on auditory information to understand language, but in normal lifespan development visual speech plays an increasing role, sometimes becoming dominant as hearing declines with age. Other populations also show interesting differences: deaf children commonly use a cochlear implant to allow them to hear, but the early lack of auditory input sometimes prevents them from ever properly integrating auditory and visual speech. To understand the neural mechanisms of multisensory integration and visual perception, our primary method is blood-oxygen level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI). fMRI experiments are conducted using the research-dedicated 3 tesla scanner in the UT MRI Center adjacent to the lab. Because of the limitations of fMRI, we often combine it with other methods, including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electrical stimulation and recording. Through these sophisticated studies, we hope to unlock one of nature's great mysteries: how the brain performs amazing computational feats, such as understanding speech, that allow us to make sense of the auditory and visual world around us. Every advance in deepening our knowledge of these processes is not only exciting for its own sake but will also help children and patients with language and perceptual difficulties.


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You can reach us at:
You can reach us at: Michael.S.Beauchamp (at) uth.tmc.edu, Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, 6431 Fannin Street, Suite G.550G, Houston, Texas 77030. Telephone (713) 500-5978.
  Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy
  University of Texas Medical School at Houston
  6431 Fannin Street, Suite G.550G
  Houston, Texas 77030

Revision as of 12:40, 7 February 2012

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The Beauchamp Lab studies the neural mechanisms for multisensory integration and visual perception in human subjects; anatomically, the primary focus of the lab is on the superior temporal sulcus, a brain area critical for both the integration of auditory, visual, and somatosensory information and for the perception of complex visual motion, such as mouth movements. Many everyday tasks require us to integrate information from multiple modalities, such as during conversation when we make use of both the auditory information we hear in spoken speech and the visual information from the facial movements of the talker. Multisensory integration is especially important under conditions in which one modality is degraded, such as in a noisy room. Even in healthy young adults, there is considerable variability in people's ability to integrate auditory and visual speech, but this difference in even more pronounced when other populations are examined. Very young children rely exclusively on auditory information to understand language, but in normal lifespan development visual speech plays an increasing role, sometimes becoming dominant as hearing declines with age. Other populations also show interesting differences: deaf children commonly use a cochlear implant to allow them to hear, but the early lack of auditory input sometimes prevents them from ever properly integrating auditory and visual speech. To understand the neural mechanisms of multisensory integration and visual perception, our primary method is blood-oxygen level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI). fMRI experiments are conducted using the research-dedicated 3 tesla scanner in the UT MRI Center adjacent to the lab. Because of the limitations of fMRI, we often combine it with other methods, including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electrical stimulation and recording. Through these sophisticated studies, we hope to unlock one of nature's great mysteries: how the brain performs amazing computational feats, such as understanding speech, that allow us to make sense of the auditory and visual world around us. Every advance in deepening our knowledge of these processes is not only exciting for its own sake but will also help children and patients with language and perceptual difficulties.

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You can reach us at: Michael.S.Beauchamp (at) uth.tmc.edu, Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, 6431 Fannin Street, Suite G.550G, Houston, Texas 77030. Telephone (713) 500-5978.

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