Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Neuroscience

Finding the missing fundamental

The whole orchestra tunes up to an A note from the oboe — but how do our brains tell that all the different sounds are the same pitch? The discovery of pitch-sensitive neurons provides some clues.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Bendor, D. & Wang, Q. Nature 436, 1161–1165 (2005).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. von Helmholtz, H. On the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis of the Theory of Music (1863) (trans. Ellis, A.; Dover Publications, New York, 1954).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Schouten, J. Koninklijke Nederl. Akad. Wetenschappen Proc. 41, 1086–1093 (1938).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Bregman, A. Auditory Scene Analysis (MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1990).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Zatorre, R. J. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 84, 566–572 (1988).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Patterson, R. D., Uppenkamp, S., Johnsrude, I. S. & Griffiths, T. D. Neuron 36, 767–776 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Zatorre, R. J. & Belin, P. Cerebral Cortex 11, 946–953 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Wetzel, W., Ohl, F., Wagner, T. & Scheich, H. Neurosci. Lett. 252, 115–118 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Whitfield, I. in Cerebral Cortex (eds Peters, A. & Jones, E.) 329–351 (Plenum, New York, 1985).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zatorre, R. Finding the missing fundamental. Nature 436, 1093–1094 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/4361093a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/4361093a

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing