This research article demonstrates that the ability to synthesize multisensory information develops gradually over time and requires a great deal of sensory experience.

The different senses have evolved to work together to exponentially contribute information about one's environment. Earlier research suggested that the development of sensory integration requires multisensory experiences that are close in time and/or space. This research article describes an experiment with animals that advanced the scientific understanding of the biological process of multisensory integration. The authors found that multisensory integration occurs early in life as a direct result of encounters with specific environmental features. For example, a cat learns to integrate the sound of a scurrying animal with glimpses of a scurrying animal so that the cat is quickly able to find the scurrying animal. If the environment is dramatically changed during this window of development, which is presumable during the first few years of human life, then the neurological patterns of sensory integration are also dramatically changed. These results would suggest that children should be exposed to a very rich sensory environment from a very young age.