ABSTRACT
Normal sound localization behavior requires an intact auditory cortex. That statement is based on clinical reports of deficits following cortical lesions (Efron et al., 1983; Greene, 1929; Pinek et al., 1989; Sanchez-Longo & Forster, 1958; Zatorre & Penhune, 2001) and on results of experimental studies in animals in which the auditory cortex has been lesioned or reversibly inactivated (e.g., Heffner, H.E. & Heffner, R.S., 1990; Jenkins & Merzenich, 1994; Lomber & Malhotra, 2003). Indeed, one of the most conspicuous behavioral deficits that follows a unilateral cortical lesion in a cat or monkey is a deficit in localization of sound sources on the side opposite to the lesion. Despite the demonstrated necessary role of the auditory cortex in localization, presently little is understood of the form in which sound-source locations are represented in patterns of cortical activity, nor is there consensus on the identity of particular cortical areas that might be specialized for processing of location-related information.
