The Auditory Cortex

This volume is a summary and synthesis of the current state of auditory forebrain organization. It addresses a clinical and academic research area that has experienced substantial progress in understanding the contribution of the auditory forebrain (that is, the medial geniculate body, the auditory cortex, and limbic-related structures) to hearing, sound localization, communication, emotive behavior, and cognition. While much of this work has been summarized in brief review form, a more synoptic and integrative treatment has been needed. __The Auditory Cortex__ looks back on 100 years of the discipline of auditory forebrain studies with a view to framing a future agenda. As new methods emerge and as older approaches exhaust their potential, it provides a summing up of the field and forges a prospectus for future work. The goal of this volume is to provide an experimental foundation and a conceptual framework for the auditory forebrain useful to the discipline as a whole, which one might consult as both a summary of work in progress and an invitation to explore further. __The Auditory Cortex__ is a timely contribution in view of the growing interest in this network as the arbiter for hearing, and as a key element in the larger communications network that spans and links the parietal, temporal, and frontal cortices. It provides an introduction to the auditory forebrain and to the neural basis of central auditory processing for neuroscientists, psychologists, clinicians, otolaryngologists, and graduate and postgraduate research workers in the field of sensory and sensory-motor systems. About the Editors: Dr. Jeffery A. Winer was a Professor of Neurobiology in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California at Berkeley. He used structural studies of the central auditory pathway as a model system to address significant neurobiological questions about neural circuitry in a functional context. The comparative, structural, and functional accessibility of the central auditory pathway provided him with a powerful system in which to pursue functional questions in the context of systems neuroscience. Dr. Christoph E. Schreiner is Professor and Vice-Chair in the Department of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery and a Member of the W.M. Keck Foundation Center for Integrative Neuroscience and the Coleman Memorial Laboratory at the University of California at San Francisco. His main scientific interests are centered around the processing of complex sounds in the auditory midbrain, thalamus, and cortex. Front Matter....Pages i-xviii The Historical Development of Ideas About the Auditory Cortex....Pages 1-40 A Profile of Auditory Forebrain Connections and Circuits....Pages 41-74 Thalamocortical Relations....Pages 75-97 Auditory Cortical Organization: Evidence for Functional Streams....Pages 99-116 The Commissural Auditory System....Pages 117-131 Intrinsic Connections of the Auditory Cortex....Pages 133-145 A Synthesis of Auditory Cortical Connections: Thalamocortical, Commissural and Corticocortical Systems....Pages 147-170 Auditory Cortical Projections to the Medial Geniculate Body....Pages 171-188 Descending Connections of Auditory Cortex to the Midbrain and Brain Stem....Pages 189-208 Neurochemical Organization of the Medial Geniculate Body and Auditory Cortex....Pages 209-234 Synaptic Integration in Auditory Cortex....Pages 235-249 Physiological Properties of Neurons in the Medial Geniculate Body....Pages 251-274 Spectral Processing in Auditory Cortex....Pages 275-308 Temporal Coding in Auditory Cortex....Pages 309-328 Cortical Representation of Auditory Space....Pages 329-341 Communication Sounds and their Cortical Representation....Pages 343-367 A Semantic Concept of Auditory Cortex Function and Learning....Pages 369-387 Functional Specialization in Primary and Non-primary Auditory Cortex....Pages 389-405 The Evolution of Auditory Cortex: The Core Areas....Pages 407-427 The Avian Auditory Pallium....Pages 429-442 Development of the Auditory Cortex....Pages 443-463 Reconceptualizing the Primary Auditory Cortex: Learning, Memory and Specific Plasticity....Pages 465-491 Cortical Effects of Aging and Hearing Loss....Pages 493-511 Corticofugal Modulation and Plasticity for Auditory Signal Processing....Pages 513-533 Auditory Evoked Potentials and Their Utility in the Assessment of Complex Sound Processing....Pages 535-559 Auditory Memories and Feedback Processing for Vocal Learning....Pages 561-575 Population Dynamics in Auditory Cortex: Optical Imaging....Pages 577-595 From Tones to Speech: Magnetoencephalographic Studies....Pages 597-615 The Relationship of Auditory Cortical Activity to Perception and Behavior....Pages 617-641 Processing Strategies in Auditory Cortex: Comparison with Other Sensory Modalities....Pages 643-656 Cortical Speech and Music Processes Revealed by Functional Neuroimaging....Pages 657-677 Toward a Synthesis of Cellular Auditory Forebrain Functional Organization....Pages 679-686 Back Matter....Pages 687-715 There has been substantial progress in understanding the contributions of the auditory forebrain to hearing, sound localization, communication, emotive behavior, and cognition. The Auditory Cortex covers the latest knowledge about the auditory forebrain, including the auditory cortex as well as the medial geniculate body in the thalamus. This book will cover all important aspects of the auditory forebrain organization and function, integrating the auditory thalamus and cortex into a smooth, coherent whole. Volume One covers basic auditory neuroscience. It complements The Auditory Cortex, Volume 2: Integrative Neuroscience, which takes a more applied/clinical perspective. "There has been substantial progress in understanding the contributions of the auditory fore brain to hearing, sound localization, communication, emotive behavior, and cognition. 'The Auditory Cortex' covers the latest knowledge about the auditory fore brain, including the auditory cortex as well as the medial geniculate body in the thalamus. This book will cover all important aspects of the auditory fore brain organization and function, integrating the auditory thalamus and cortex into a smooth, coherent whole"--Provided by publisher