New pathways in brain’s amygdala discovered
Study provides evidence of the existence of a long-rage inhibitory pathway from the auditory cortex to the amygdala in the brains of mice. ... Read More...
auditory cortex
Enjoyment of pop music classics linked to combination of uncertainty and surprise
Combining neuroimaging data with machine learning, researchers report musical pleasure depends on a dynamic interplay between prospective and retrospective states of expectation.... Read More...
How the brain dials up the volume to hear someone in a crowd
When a person listens to another person talking, their brain waves alter to select specific features of the speaker's voice and tune out other voices.... Read More...
The propensity to hear ‘voices’ in Schizophrenia may be established by infancy
People with schizophrenia who experience auditory hallucinations have greater activation in specific areas of the auditory cortex in response to sound frequencies. The mapping of sound frequency in the auditory cortex is scrambled in those with schizophrenia, suggesting a disruption in the normal processes for organized sound representation in the brain. As the tonotopic map is established during infancy and remains stable throughout life, the findings suggest vulnerability for auditory hallucinations is linked to defects in the organization of the auditory system during infantile development. This precedes speech development and the onset of psychiatric symptoms.... Read More...
How the brain repurposes unused regions
There is an underlying organization that dictates how the visual cortex is repurposed in blind people, which is not random. ... Read More...
Brain imaging shows how nonverbal children with autism have slower response to sounds
Nonverbal children on the autism spectrum have a slower response to auditory stimulation. The longer response times were associated with poor communication skills. Brain imaging of the auditory cortex could serve as a biomarker for measuring the likelihood of language impairment in those with ASD.... Read More...
New findings on human speech recognition
Increased activity of the ventromedial geniculate body indicates the processing of auditory information begins before the auditory pathways reach the cerebral cortex.... Read More...
Brain-computer interfacing technology uses music to make people happy
A new brain-machine interface technology can enhance emotional interaction with music. ... Read More...
Reducing brain inflammation could treat tinnitus and other hearing loss-related disorders
Rodent study reveals noise-induced hearing loss is associated with elevated expression of proinflammatory cytokines and microglia activation in the primary auditory cortex. Pharmacologically depleting microglia helps prevent tinnitus in mice with noise-induced hearing loss.... Read More...
Our brains appear uniquely tuned for musical pitch
Study of macaque monkeys reveals speech and music may have shaped the human brain's auditory networks. Researchers found specific areas of the human brain have a stronger preference for pitch than that of primates, raising the possibility certain sounds, which are embedded in music and speech, may have shaped the organization of our brains.... Read More...
Study illuminates the brain’s inner workings
Study explores how large scale patterns of brain activity can vary between cognitive systems, and across people.... Read More...
Brain region discovered that only processes spoken, not written words
A small, preliminary study helps researchers identify a region of the brain that specializes in the processing of auditory words.... Read More...