Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Auditory Pathway01:15

Auditory Pathway

Auditory pathways constitute the complex neural circuits responsible for transmitting and interpreting auditory information from the peripheral auditory system to the brain. Sound waves are initially captured by the outer ear, funneled through the ear canal, and reach the tympanic membrane (eardrum). These vibrations are transmitted via the middle ear's ossicles to the inner ear's cochlea.
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex01:14

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

The cerebral cortex, the brain's outermost layer, is pivotal in processing complex cognitive tasks, emotions, and various sensory inputs and executing voluntary motor activities. This intricate structure is divided into three primary functional areas: the motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas.
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.
Auditory Perception01:17

Auditory Perception

The auditory system is essential for sound perception, utilizing various critical structures. When sound waves enter the outer ear, they travel through the ear canal and cause the eardrum to vibrate. These vibrations are then transmitted to the middle ear, where three tiny bones – the malleus, incus, and stapes – amplify the sound. This amplification is crucial, as it ensures that the sound vibrations are strong enough to be conveyed to the inner ear. These vibrations then reach the cochlea, a...
Parallel Processing01:20

Parallel Processing

The brain processes sensory information rapidly due to parallel processing, which involves sending data across multiple neural pathways at the same time. This method allows the brain to manage various sensory qualities, such as shapes, colors, movements, and locations, all concurrently. For instance, when observing a forest landscape, the brain simultaneously processes the movement of leaves, the shapes of trees, the depth between them, and the various shades of green. This enables a quick and...
Hearing01:31

Hearing

When we hear a sound, our nervous system is detecting sound waves—pressure waves of mechanical energy traveling through a medium. The frequency of the wave is perceived as pitch, while the amplitude is perceived as loudness.
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language01:10

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

The neural basis of laughter.

Trends in neurosciences·2026
Same author

Audiobook familiarization is associated with theta-gamma power modulation and increased alpha-band phase synchronization.

NeuroImage·2026
Same author

Speech prediction of a listener via EEG-based classification through subject-independent phase dissimilarity model.

Scientific reports·2025
Same author

Emotion recognition, symptoms of depression, and fluid intelligence after frontal lobe lesions.

Neuropsychologia·2025
Same author

The multifaceted role of the inferior colliculus in sensory prediction, reward processing, and decision-making.

eLife·2025
Same author

Autistic adults perceive and experience laughter differently to non-autistic adults.

Scientific reports·2024

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Functional Imaging of Auditory Cortex in Adult Cats using High-field fMRI
10:50

Functional Imaging of Auditory Cortex in Adult Cats using High-field fMRI

Published on: February 19, 2014

Maps and streams in the auditory cortex: nonhuman primates illuminate human speech processing.

Josef P Rauschecker1, Sophie K Scott

  • 1Laboratory of Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA. rauschej@georgetown.edu

Nature Neuroscience
|May 28, 2009
PubMed
Summary

Animal studies reveal shared neural mechanisms underlying human speech perception. By examining primate auditory cortex, researchers identified hierarchical structures and functional processing streams crucial for decoding speech, linking animal communication to human language evolution.

More Related Videos

Electroencephalography Measurements in Awake Marmosets Listening to Conspecific Vocalizations
07:52

Electroencephalography Measurements in Awake Marmosets Listening to Conspecific Vocalizations

Published on: July 26, 2024

Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example
08:45

Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example

Published on: October 24, 2012

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Functional Imaging of Auditory Cortex in Adult Cats using High-field fMRI
10:50

Functional Imaging of Auditory Cortex in Adult Cats using High-field fMRI

Published on: February 19, 2014

Electroencephalography Measurements in Awake Marmosets Listening to Conspecific Vocalizations
07:52

Electroencephalography Measurements in Awake Marmosets Listening to Conspecific Vocalizations

Published on: July 26, 2024

Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example
08:45

Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example

Published on: October 24, 2012

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Linguistics

Background:

  • Speech and language are uniquely human, yet evolved from ancestral neural mechanisms.
  • Animal communication systems, while sophisticated, lack human linguistic recursion and combinatorial power.
  • Understanding the evolution of speech perception requires examining homologous neural structures in animals.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To demonstrate how nonhuman primate studies inform our understanding of human speech perception.
  • To identify the roles of different cortical areas in speech processing.
  • To propose a new model linking speech perception and production based on neural structures.

Main Methods:

  • Review of physiological and anatomical studies on primate auditory cortex.
  • Analysis of functional imaging studies in humans.
  • Integration of findings into a new neurobiological model of speech processing.

Main Results:

  • Primate auditory cortex exhibits hierarchical structure, topographic mapping, and distinct functional processing streams.
  • Specific cortical areas are implicated in the perceptual processing of speech.
  • Human functional imaging data supports the role of these areas in speech decoding and monitoring.

Conclusions:

  • Comparative studies of animal auditory systems provide crucial insights into the evolution of human speech perception.
  • A model connecting temporal, frontal, and parietal lobes offers a framework for understanding the neural basis of speech perception and production.