title: Frequency preference and attention effects across cortical depths in the human primary auditory cortex.
abstract: Columnar arrangements of neurons with similar preference have been suggested as the fundamental processing units of the cerebral cortex. Within these columnar arrangements, feed-forward information enters at middle cortical layers whereas feedback information arrives at superficial and deep layers. This interplay of feed-forward and feedback processing is at the core of perception and behavior. Here we provide in vivo evidence consistent with a columnar organization of the processing of sound frequency in the human auditory cortex. We measure submillimeter functional responses to sound frequency sweeps at high magnetic fields (7 tesla) and show that frequency preference is stable through cortical depth in primary auditory cortex. Furthermore, we demonstrate that-in this highly columnar cortex-task demands sharpen the frequency tuning in superficial cortical layers more than in middle or deep layers. These findings are pivotal to understanding mechanisms of neural information processing and flow during the active perception of sounds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Neurosciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands; Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455; f.demartino@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Martino
authors.affiliation: Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455;
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moerel
authors.affiliation: Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455;
authors.forename: Kamil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ugurbil
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Neurosciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands; Department of Neuroimaging and Neuromodeling, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Goebel
authors.affiliation: Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455;
authors.forename: Essa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yacoub
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Neurosciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands; Maastricht Center for Systems Biology (MaCSBio), Maastricht University, 6229 ER, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Elia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Formisano
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D013016:Sound; D013017:Sound Localization / Q000502:physiology
keywords: 7-Tesla; columns; depth-dependent; fMRI; tonotopy