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auditory cortex

This shows a brain and a clock with speech bubbles.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience

·September 18, 2025·6 min read

Speeding Up Speech Doesn’t Speed Up Brain Processing

New research shows that when people listen to speech at different speeds, the auditory cortex does not adjust its timing but instead processes sound in a fixed time window. This discovery challenges the long-standing idea that the brain flexibly adapts its processing pace to match speech rhythms.

This shows a person sitting alone, surrounded by floating musical notes.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience

·August 8, 2025·5 min read

When Music Falls Flat: Why Some Brains Don’t Enjoy Music

Some people feel absolutely nothing when listening to music—and not because of bad taste. A rare condition called specific musical anhedonia involves a disconnect between the brain's auditory and reward systems, making music emotionally flat even though other rewards like food or money still trigger pleasure.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience

·May 13, 2025·5 min read

How the Brain Links Sound to Meaning

A new study has mapped how the brain retrieves words during speech, identifying two distinct but overlapping networks in the prefrontal cortex. Researchers used high-resolution electrocorticography in 48 patients to reveal that semantic processing and articulatory planning occur in neighboring yet functionally distinct regions.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience

·October 9, 2024·6 min read

Vagus Nerve Stimulation Can Boost Perceptual Learning

New research demonstrates that stimulating the vagus nerve enhances perceptual learning, allowing animals to better distinguish subtle sensory differences over time. In the study, mice trained to differentiate tones improved more when their vagus nerve was stimulated, surpassing performance plateaus seen in unstimulated mice. This stimulation activated regions in the brain associated with attention, memory, and neuroplasticity, suggesting it might enhance adaptability to new experiences.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 9, 2024·3 min read

Classical Music Synchronizes Brain Waves, Improving Depression

Western classical music can significantly affect brain activity, particularly in people with treatment-resistant depression. By measuring brainwaves and neural imaging, scientists discovered that music synchronizes neural oscillations between brain regions associated with sensory and emotional processing, enhancing mood. This study suggests that personalized music therapy could be a powerful tool for treating depression, especially when integrated with other sensory stimuli.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience

·July 11, 2024·5 min read

Brain Region Helps Tune Our Hearing to Focus on Important Sounds

A new study uncovers how the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) aids the auditory cortex in adapting to different hearing contexts. Researchers found that the OFC sends signals to the auditory cortex to help switch between passive and active listening. This discovery enhances our understanding of how the brain filters and reacts to sounds, with implications for treating neurodevelopmental disorders. The findings highlight the OFC's crucial role in managing auditory attention.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience

·June 28, 2024·5 min read

Supranormal Hearing Achieved by Boosting Ear Synapses

Researchers have enhanced auditory processing in young mice by increasing inner ear synapses using neurotrophin-3. This study supports the hypothesis that synapse density impacts hidden hearing loss in humans. The findings could lead to new treatments for hearing disorders by preserving or regenerating synapses. The study reveals that boosting synapses not only improves hearing but also enhances auditory information processing.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience

·June 25, 2024·3 min read

How The Brain Predicts Music

A new study reveals how our brains recognize and predict musical sequences, activating areas related to sound, memory, and emotions. This understanding could help develop tools to detect cognitive decline and dementia. The study measured brainwaves of 83 participants, showing the complex neural processes involved in music perception. Future research will explore how these mechanisms change with age and cognitive impairments.

This shows a brain model wearing headphones.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience

·May 10, 2024·8 min read

Unveiling the Brain’s Response to Sound

Researchers discovered how the brain translates sounds into actions, a key to understanding sensory decision-making. Their study reveals that both sensory and future action-related signals are present in the cortex, challenging previous beliefs that these areas are functionally distinct.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience

·February 20, 2024·5 min read

How Our Brains Process Music

Researchers unlocked how the brain processes melodies, creating a detailed map of auditory cortex activity. Their study reveals that the brain engages in dual tasks when hearing music: tracking pitch with neurons used for speech and predicting future notes with music-specific neurons.

This shows a brain with the areas mentioned in the study highlighted

Featured Neuroscience

·April 17, 2023·5 min read

How Music Can Prevent Cognitive Decline

Listening to or practicing music had positive implications on cognitive decline in older adults by stimulating the production of gray matter in key brain areas, a new study reveals.

This shows an older man with a hearing aid

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience

·December 24, 2022·5 min read

When Elders Can’t Hear Words at a Noisy Holiday Gathering, Too Many Brain Cells May Be Firing at Once

Older mice were less capable than younger mice at "turning off" certain actively firing neurons when exposed to ambient noise. The result causes a fuzzy soundscape that makes it difficult for the brain to focus on one type of sound and filter out other surrounding sounds.