Neural Mechanisms of Binaural Fusion

Abstract

Neurons selective for complex acoustic signals in animals provide useful insights into the possible neural mechanisms of speech recognition. The stimulus selectivity of "complex" neurons may be the result of many processes that take place in the networks converging on the neurons. The networks are specialized for the creation of specific auditory percepts from particular signals. Systematic distribution of complex neurons such as those found in the auditory cortex of bats and in the owl's midbrain suggest that different percepts are separately mapped.