biostudies-literatureNorman-Haignere SVU.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication DisordersU.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and StrokeHoward Hughes Medical InstituteNIDCD NIH HHSNINDS NIH HHSU.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | NIH Office of the DirectorNIH HHS455-469https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8957490biostudies-literatureUnknown6(3)To derive meaning from sound, the brain must integrate information across many timescales. What computations underlie multiscale integration in human auditory cortex? Evidence suggests that auditory cortex analyses sound using both generic acoustic representations (for example, spectrotemporal modulation tuning) and category-specific computations, but the timescales over which these putatively distinct computations integrate remain unclear. To answer this question, we developed a general method to estimate sensory integration windows-the time window when stimuli alter the neural response-and applied our method to intracranial recordings from neurosurgical patients. We show that human auditory cortex integrates hierarchically across diverse timescales spanning from ~50 to 400 ms. Moreover, we find that neural populations with short and long integration windows exhibit distinct functional properties: short-integration electrodes (less than ~200 ms) show prominent spectrotemporal modulation selectivity, while long-integration electrodes (greater than ~200 ms) show prominent category selectivity. These findings reveal how multiscale integration organizes auditory computation in the human brain.Nature human behaviourMultiscale temporal integration organizes hierarchical computation in human auditory cortex.PMC8957490R00 DC018051R01 DC014279S10 OD018211R01-NS084142R01-DC014279R01 DC018805R01 NS084142LSRF Postdoctoral Award to SNHR01-DC018805S10-OD018211K99 DC018051Devinsky OFlinker ALong LKDoyle WFeldstein NAMesgarani NSchevon CAMerricks EMIrobunda INorman-Haignere SVMcKhann GMfalseMultiscale temporal integration organizes hierarchical computation in human auditory cortex.To derive meaning from sound, the brain must integrate information across many timescales. What computations underlie multiscale integration in human auditory cortex? Evidence suggests that auditory cortex analyses sound using both generic acoustic representations (for example, spectrotemporal modulation tuning) and category-specific computations, but the timescales over which these putatively distinct computations integrate remain unclear. To answer this question, we developed a general method to estimate sensory integration windows-the time window when stimuli alter the neural response-and applied our method to intracranial recordings from neurosurgical patients. We show that human auditory cortex integrates hierarchically across diverse timescales spanning from ~50 to 400 ms. Moreover, we find that neural populations with short and long integration windows exhibit distinct functional properties: short-integration electrodes (less than ~200 ms) show prominent spectrotemporal modulation selectivity, while long-integration electrodes (greater than ~200 ms) show prominent category selectivity. These findings reveal how multiscale integration organizes auditory computation in the human brain.2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Mar2025-04-22T11:30:23.467Z2025-02-19T02:26:14.54ZS-EPMC89574903514528010.1038/s41562-021-01261-y