The opponent channel population code of sound location is an efficient representation of natural binaural sounds.

ABSTRACT: In mammalian auditory cortex, sound source position is represented by a population of broadly tuned neurons whose firing is modulated by sounds located at all positions surrounding the animal. Peaks of their tuning curves are concentrated at lateral position, while their slopes are steepest at the interaural midline, allowing for the maximum localization accuracy in that area. These experimental observations contradict initial assumptions that the auditory space is represented as a topographic cortical map. It has been suggested that a "panoramic" code has evolved to match specific demands of the sound localization task. This work provides evidence suggesting that properties of spatial auditory neurons identified experimentally follow from a general design principle- learning a sparse, eff

SUBMITTER: Mlynarski W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4440638 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature