Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2026

An Automated System for Sound Localization Testing in Hearing-Impaired Listeners
Published on: March 13, 2026
Precognitive and cognitive elements in sound localization
Bernhard H Gaese1, Hermann Wagner
1Institut für Biologie II, RWTH Aachen, Germany. gaese@zoology.uni-frankfurt.de
Abstract:
Sound localization behavior is of great importance for an animal's survival. To localize a sound, animals have to detect a sound source and assign a location to it. In this review we discuss recent results on the underlying mechanisms and on modulatory influences in the barn owl, an auditory specialist with very well developed capabilities to localize sound. Information processing in the barn owl auditory pathway underlying the computations of detection and localization is well understood. This analysis of the sensory information primarily determines the following orienting behavior towards the sound source. However, orienting behavior may be modulated by cognitive (top-down) influences such as attention. We show how advanced stimulation techniques can be used to determine the importance of different cues for sound localization in quasi-realistic stimulation situations, how attentional influences can improve the response to behaviorally relevant stimuli, and how attention can modulate related neural responses. Taken together, these data indicate how sound localization might function in the usually complex natural environment.
Related Concept Videos
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...
Hearing
Auditory Pathway
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...
Auditory Perception
The Cochlea
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex.

