Speculations on the Role of Frequency in Sound Localization

Vol. 28, No. 1-3, 1986

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Neuroethology of Acoustic and Electric Communication

Speculations on the Role of Frequency in Sound Localization
Z.M. Fuzessery

Department of Zoology, Patterson Lab, University of Texas, Austin, Tex., USA

Address of Corresponding Author

Brain Behav Evol 1986;28:95-108 (DOI: 10.1159/000118695)

Key Words

Audition
Sound localization
Spectral cue
Tonotopy

Abstract

This presentation reviews behavioral and physiological evidence suggesting that the perceived power spectrum of a sound, as modified by the external ears, provides important cues for horizontal and vertical sound localization. This spatial information is mostly likely encoded by the relative levels of excitation among the tonotopically organized hair cells of the cochlea. This suggests that the preservation of the cochlear frequency map within the central auditory system contributes an anatomical substrate for the localization of sound.

Author Contacts

Zoltan M. Fuzessery, PhD, Department of Neurophysiology, University of Wisconsin Medical School, 1300 University Ave., 283 Medical Science Building, Madison, WI 53706 (USA)

Article Information

Published online: February 20, 2008
Number of Print Pages : 14

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