

The opposite temporal lobe is responsible for recognizing the voices of individuals and identifying non-verbal sounds such as different bird sounds or other noises. Only 40 % of left-handed people have their language center in the right temporal lobe. Luria discovered that 60% of left-handed people also have their language center in the left temporal lobe. This fact holds true for all right-handed people.

This rule was established by Broca but later amended by Luria.įor example, if the person is right-handed, the language comprehension center will be in the left temporal lobe. The auditory cortex responsible for perceiving and comprehending speech is usually found opposite the dominant side of the body. Sound received by the right ear is directed primarily to the left temporal lobe, and information from the left ear is relayed primarily to the right temporal lobe.ĭominance refers to which side of your body is dominant and is reflected in whether you are left-handed or right-handed. Are The Right And Left Auditory Cortex The Same? The auditory cortex processes language without any awareness on our part. Complicated sounds such as speech and music are also interpreted in the auditory cortex requiring auditory perception skills. The ability to determine the distance sound has traveled involves complex neurological computations, which include amplitude or the loudness of sounds.Īmplitude, frequency, and localization are considered the basic perception of sound. The use of dual sensory input enables us to determine the direction of the sound, its origin, and the distance. Tonotopic neurons in the auditory cortex allow it to detect changes in pitch.Īnother key function in the primary auditory cortex is the ability to localize sound by interpreting auditory and spatial information together. The specific frequency areas of the cochlea and auditory cortex are synchronized. The cochlea is arranged in a similar fashion. The auditory cortex can be represented by a tonotopic map – a diagram showing where each frequency is received. Sound frequency is sometimes called pitch. Neurons that respond best to the lowest frequencies are grouped at one end, and neurons responding to high frequencies at the other end. This means that the neurons are specialized to respond to different frequency sounds. The primary auditory cortex neurons are tonotopic. What Is The Function Of The Primary Auditory Cortex? It contains a critical region known as Wernicke’s area. The auditory association cortex is found lateral to the primary auditory cortex. In some individuals, their primary auditory cortex may extend into a neighboring sulcus. Some people may have only one or two Gyri of Heschl, and some may have three or more. The primary cortex spreads across Heschl’s gyri.Įach person’s primary auditory cortex occurs in a slightly different place. Numerous gyri (ridges) in the lateral sulcus form Heschl’s gyri or the transverse temporal gyri. The primary auditory cortex is situated on the surface of the temporal lobe, extending into a deep cleft in the temporal lobe known as the lateral sulcus. This means that if you were to dissect a brain, you would not find clear structural divisions or membranes that separate the areas. It is important to remember that the brain is divided according to function. For this article, we will stay with the simpler model of a primary auditory cortex and the auditory association cortex. There is some discussion as to how the auditory cortex s divided. The temporal lobes are the second biggest lobes in the brain and are situated on the sides of the brain behind the ears and temples. The auditory cortex occurs in the right and left temporal lobes. Damage to the auditory cortex produces some interesting results. The auditory cortex is a highly complex area with specialized functions. The auditory cortex is found bilaterally in the temporal lobes. Wernicke’s area is included in the auditory cortex and is responsible for language comprehension. The auditory cortex functions to analyze and decode auditory information collected by the ears and relayed along the auditory nerves. This is the function of the auditory cortex. The truth is that although the ears receive sounds, the auditory information must be processed in order to make sense of it. They assume that the ears are the organ responsible for hearing and that the person will hear perfectly as long as the ears are functioning. Most people do not think much about what happens to sound after it reaches their ears.
