title: Neural circuits underlying adaptation and learning in the perception of auditory space.
abstract: Sound localization mechanisms are particularly plastic during development, when the monaural and binaural acoustic cues that form the basis for spatial hearing change in value as the body grows. Recent studies have shown that the mature brain retains a surprising capacity to relearn to localize sound in the presence of substantially altered auditory spatial cues. In addition to the long-lasting changes that result from learning, behavioral and electrophysiological studies have demonstrated that auditory spatial processing can undergo rapid adjustments in response to changes in the statistics of recent stimulation, which help to maintain sensitivity over the range where most stimulus values occur. Through a combination of recording studies and methods for selectively manipulating the activity of specific neuronal populations, progress is now being made in identifying the cortical and subcortical circuits in the brain that are responsible for the dynamic coding of auditory spatial information.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, Sherrington Building, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, UK. andrew.king@dpag.ox.ac.uk
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Johannes C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Dahmen
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Keating
authors.forename: Nicholas D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Leach
authors.forename: Fernando R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Nodal
authors.forename: Victoria M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Bajo
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology; D013017:Sound Localization / Q000502:physiology*