The Human Auditory Cortex

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiv

   PDF

2. Introduction: Why Human Auditory Cortex?

   • David Poeppel, Tobias Overath

   Pages 1-7

3. The Methods

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 9-9

      PDF

   2. Architecture, Connectivity, and Transmitter Receptors of Human Auditory Cortex

      • Stephanie Clarke, Patricia Morosan

      Pages 11-38

   3. Invasive Research Methods

      • Matthew A. Howard III, Kirill V. Nourski, John F. Brugge

      Pages 39-67

   4. Recording Event-Related Brain Potentials: Application to Study Auditory Perception

      • Claude Alain, István Winkler

      Pages 69-96

   5. Magnetoencephalography

      • Srikantan Nagarajan, Rodney A. Gabriel, Alexander Herman

      Pages 97-128

   6. Hemodynamic Imaging: Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

      • Thomas M. Talavage, Ingrid S. Johnsrude, Javier Gonzalez-Castillo

      Pages 129-162

4. The Principal Computational Challenges

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 163-163

      PDF

   2. Coding of Basic Acoustical and Perceptual Components of Sound in Human Auditory Cortex

      • Deborah Hall, Daphne Barker

      Pages 165-197

   3. Auditory Object Analysis

      • Timothy D. Griffiths, Christophe Micheyl, Tobias Overath

      Pages 199-223

   4. Speech Perception from a Neurophysiological Perspective

      • Anne-Lise Giraud, David Poeppel

      Pages 225-260

   5. Cortical Processing of Music

      • Robert J. Zatorre, Jean Mary Zarate

      Pages 261-294

   6. Multisensory Role of Human Auditory Cortex

      • Virginie van Wassenhove, Charles E. Schroeder

      Pages 295-331

   7. Redefining the Functional Organization of the Planum Temporale Region: Space, Objects, and Sensory–Motor Integration

      • Gregory Hickok, Kourosh Saberi

      Pages 333-350

   8. Toward a Theory of Information Processing in Auditory Cortex

      • Peter Cariani, Christophe Micheyl

      Pages 351-390

5. Back Matter

   Pages 391-396

   PDF

We live in a complex and dynamically changing acoustic environment. To this end, the auditory cortex of humans has developed the ability to process a remarkable amount of diverse acoustic information with apparent ease. In fact, a phylogenetic comparison of auditory systems reveals that human auditory association cortex in particular has undergone extensive changes relative to that of other species, although our knowledge of this remains incomplete. In contrast to other senses, human auditory cortex receives input that is highly pre-processed in a number of sub-cortical structures; this suggests that even primary auditory cortex already performs quite complex analyses. At the same time, much of the functional role of the various sub-areas in human auditory cortex is still relatively unknown, and a more sophisticated understanding is only now emerging through the use of contemporary electrophysiological and neuroimaging techniques. The integration of results across the various techniques signify a new era in our knowledge of how human auditory cortex forms basis for auditory experience. This volume on human auditory cortex will have two major parts. In Part A, the principal methodologies currently used to investigate human auditory cortex will be discussed. Each chapter will first outline how the methodology is used in auditory neuroscience, highlighting the challenges of obtaining data from human auditory cortex; second, each methods chapter will provide two or (at most) three brief examples of how it has been used to generate a major result about auditory processing. In Part B, the central questions for auditory processing in human auditory cortex are covered. Each chapter can draw on all the methods introduced in Part A but will focus on a major computational challenge the system has to solve. This volume will constitute an important contemporary reference work on human auditory cortex. Arguably, this will be the first and most focused book on this critical neurological structure. The combination of different methodological and experimental approaches as well as a diverse range of aspects of human auditory perception ensures that this volume will inspire novel insights and spurn future research.

From the book reviews:

“This is a comprehensive textbook about the imaging and multielectrode investigation of the primary auditory human cortex. … I recommend this book for neurosurgeons, auditory physiologists, anatomists, and sensory physiology students and fellows. … There is a place for this book to be on the desks of audition investigators and audiologists.” (Joseph J. Grenier, Amazon.com, October, 2014)

“This book describes the auditory cortex of humans as related to auditory processing and explores the various techniques available to study auditory processing. … It is intended for advanced graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and clinical investigators with an interest in hearing research. … This is a very good handbook on the auditory cortex, covering the topic well from methodology through elementary challenges in auditory processing. … for those with a basic background in audition, it will add greatly to their knowledge base.” (Gary B. Kaniuk, Doody’s Review Service, October, 2012)

• Dept. Psychology, New York University, New York, USA

  David Poeppel, Tobias Overath

• , Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, USA

  Arthur N. Popper

• Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, USA

  Richard R. Fay

Policies and ethics