ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the knowledge of the major neural circuits present in the human auditory brain stem, and to compare those with circuits in laboratory animals that appear to be similar and dissimilar to those in humans. A fundamental problem in trying to understand the neural bases of speech processing is that only humans are capable of understanding spoken language, and there are no noninvasive means of measuring activity of individual neurons that participate in the process. Determining which of separate channels are common to cats and humans is an attractive starting place for ascertaining the kinds of processing that occur in the early stages of central processing of speech signals. Examination of numerous Golgi-impregnated human cochlear nuclei revealed none. Based on Nissl-stained material, it has been argued that there are cells within the human DCN corresponding to pyramidal cells.
