Multimodal integration in the TPJ-STS in schizophrenia

Making sense of dynamic complex social situations requires the quick integration of both auditory (verbal) and visual (non-verbal) social cues. Individuals with schizophrenia are known to have differences in the perception of both modalities. However, the stimuli used in most research paradigms typically fails to capture the process of the simultaneous processing and integration of these rich sensory streams of information. Here, I will demonstrate how movie-fMRI can be used to capture this integration. This approach highlights the TPJ-STS as the center of this multimodal integration and shows how this process goes awry in individuals with schizophrenia, resulting in disproportionately increased auditory/visual integration.