Mechanisms of sound localization in mammals

Benedikt Grothe*, Michael Pecka, David McAlpine

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

655 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The ability to determine the location of a sound source is fundamental to hearing. However, auditory space is not represented in any systematic manner on the basilar membrane of the cochlea, the sensory surface of the receptor organ for hearing. Understanding the means by which sensitivity to spatial cues is computed in central neurons can therefore contribute to our understanding of the basic nature of complex neural representations. We review recent evidence concerning the nature of the neural representation of auditory space in the mammalian brain and elaborate on recent advances in the understanding of mammalian subcortical processing of auditory spatial cues that challenge the "textbook" version of sound localization, in particular brain mechanisms contributing to binaural hearing.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)983-1012
Number of pages30
JournalPhysiological Reviews
Volume90
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2010
Externally publishedYes

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