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Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Slicing the Embryonic Chicken Auditory Brainstem to Evaluate Tonotopic Gradients and Microcircuits
Published on: July 12, 2022
Orthogonal representation of sound dimensions in the primate midbrain
Simon Baumann1, Timothy D Griffiths, Li Sun
1Institute of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. simon.baumann@ncl.ac.uk
Abstract:
Natural sounds are characterized by their spectral content and the modulation of energy over time. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging in awake macaques, we observed topographical representations of these spectral and temporal dimensions in a single structure, the inferior colliculus, the principal auditory nucleus in the midbrain. These representations are organized as a map with two approximately perpendicular axes: one representing increasing temporal rate and the other increasing spectral frequency.
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