Heschl's Gyrus, Posterior Superior Temporal Gyrus, and Mid-Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex Have Different Roles in the Detection of Acoustic Changes

A part of the auditory system automatically detects changes in the acoustic environment. This preattentional process has been studied extensively, yet its cerebral origins have not been determined with sufficient accuracy to allow comparison to established anatomical and functional parcellations. Here we used event-related functional MRI and EEG in a parametric experimental design to determine the cortical areas in individual brains that participate in the detection of acoustic changes. Our results suggest that automatic change processing consists of at least three stages: initial detection in the primary auditory cortex, detailed analysis in the posterior superior temporal gyrus and planum temporale, and judgment of sufficient novelty for the allocation of attentional resources in the mid-ventrolateral prefrontal cortex.

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Coding of Auditory-Stimulus Identity in the Auditory Non-Spatial Processing Stream

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.01069.2007 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 99 (1) ◽

pp. 87-95 ◽

Cited By ~ 77

Author(s):

Brian E. Russ ◽

Ashlee L. Ackelson ◽

Allison E. Baker ◽

Yale E. Cohen

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Information Processing ◽

Auditory Stimulus ◽

Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽

Spatial Processing ◽

Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Cortical Areas ◽

Processing Stream ◽

Neural Computations ◽

Stimulus Identity

The neural computations that underlie the processing of auditory-stimulus identity are not well understood, especially how information is transformed across different cortical areas. Here, we compared the capacity of neurons in the superior temporal gyrus (STG) and the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vPFC) to code the identity of an auditory stimulus; these two areas are part of a ventral processing stream for auditory-stimulus identity. Whereas the responses of neurons in both areas are reliably modulated by different vocalizations, STG responses code significantly more vocalizations than those in the vPFC. Together, these data indicate that the STG and vPFC differentially code auditory identity, which suggests that substantial information processing takes place between these two areas. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the STG and the vPFC are part of a functional circuit for auditory-identity analysis.

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Functional Connection Between Posterior Superior Temporal Gyrus and Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Human

Cerebral Cortex ◽

10.1093/cercor/bhs220 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 23 (10) ◽

pp. 2309-2321 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

P. C. Garell ◽

H. Bakken ◽

J. D. W. Greenlee ◽

I. Volkov ◽

R. A. Reale ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽

Functional Connection ◽

Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex

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Functional role of the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex in decision making

Current Opinion in Neurobiology ◽

10.1016/j.conb.2007.02.008 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 228-233 ◽

Cited By ~ 74

Author(s):

Masamichi Sakagami ◽

Xiaochuan Pan

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Functional Role ◽

Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex

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Subcortical circuits mediate communication between primary sensory cortical areas in mice

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-24200-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Michael Lohse ◽

Johannes C. Dahmen ◽

Victoria M. Bajo ◽

Andrew J. King

Keyword(s):

Cortical Neurons ◽

Common Property ◽

Primary Auditory Cortex ◽

Facilitatory Effect ◽

Thalamic Nuclei ◽

Auditory Midbrain ◽

Cortical Areas ◽

Auditory Responses ◽

Evoked Activity

AbstractIntegration of information across the senses is critical for perception and is a common property of neurons in the cerebral cortex, where it is thought to arise primarily from corticocortical connections. Much less is known about the role of subcortical circuits in shaping the multisensory properties of cortical neurons. We show that stimulation of the whiskers causes widespread suppression of sound-evoked activity in mouse primary auditory cortex (A1). This suppression depends on the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), and is implemented through a descending circuit that links S1, via the auditory midbrain, with thalamic neurons that project to A1. Furthermore, a direct pathway from S1 has a facilitatory effect on auditory responses in higher-order thalamic nuclei that project to other brain areas. Crossmodal corticofugal projections to the auditory midbrain and thalamus therefore play a pivotal role in integrating multisensory signals and in enabling communication between different sensory cortical areas.

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