Functional architecture of auditory cortex.
Three complementary approaches demonstrate new types of organization in rodent, feline and primate auditory cortex, as well as differences in processing between auditory and visual cortex. First, connectional work reveals patterns of thalamocortical and corticocortical input unique to the auditory cortex. Second, physiological studies find multiple, interleaved auditory processing modules related to corticocortical connections and embedded in the isofrequency gradient. Third, functional analyses demonstrate independent processing streams for sound localization and identification analogous to the 'what' and 'where' streams in visual cortex, although the modular arrangements are modality-specific. Taken together, these data show that the auditory cortex has common and unique functional substrates.
WM Keck Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143-0732, USA. heather.read@phy.ucsf.edu
Heather L
HL
Read
Jeffery A
JA
Winer
Christoph E
CE
Schreiner
D000818:Animals; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009415:Nerve Net; D013017:Sound Localization; D013788:Thalamus / Q000502:physiology