Article abstract
Nature Neuroscience 11, 609 - 616 (2008)
Published online: 13 April 2008 | doi:10.1038/nn.2108
Double dissociation of 'what' and 'where' processing in auditory cortex
Stephen G Lomber1,2,3 & Shveta Malhotra4
Abstract
Studies of cortical connections or neuronal function in different cerebral areas support the hypothesis that parallel cortical processing streams, similar to those identified in visual cortex, may exist in the auditory system. However, this model has not yet been behaviorally tested. We used reversible cooling deactivation to investigate whether the individual regions in cat nonprimary auditory cortex that are responsible for processing the pattern of an acoustic stimulus or localizing a sound in space could be doubly dissociated in the same animal. We found that bilateral deactivation of the posterior auditory field resulted in deficits in a sound-localization task, whereas bilateral deactivation of the anterior auditory field resulted in deficits in a pattern-discrimination task, but not vice versa. These findings support a model of cortical organization that proposes that identifying an acoustic stimulus ('what') and its spatial location ('where') are processed in separate streams in auditory cortex.
- Centre for Brain and Mind, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, Middlesex Road, London, Ontario N6A 5K8, Canada.
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Science, University of Western Ontario, Oxford Road, London, Ontario N6A 5C2, Canada.
- National Centre for Audiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, 1201 Western Road, London, Ontario N6G 1H1, Canada.
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, 800 West Campbell Road, Richardson, Texas 75080, USA.
Correspondence to: Stephen G Lomber1,2,3 e-mail: steve.lomber@uwo.ca
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