Acoustic Factors Govern Developmental Sharpening of Spatial Tuning in the Auditory Cortex

Acoustic factors govern developmental sharpening of spatial tuning in the auditory cortex

Auditory localization relies on the detection and interpretation of acoustic cues that change in value as the head and external ears grow. Here we show that the maturation of these structures is an important determinant for the development of spatial selectivity in the ferret auditory cortex. Spatial response fields (SRFs) of high-frequency cortical neurons recorded at postnatal days (P) 33–39 were broader, and transmitted less information about…

Brain cortex structure linked to mental abilities and psychiatric disorders

The cerebral cortex, the outermost layer of the brain, is the central driver of various human capabilities, including decision-making, perception, language and memory. Understanding how the morphology (i.e., structure and shape) of people's cerebral cortex is related to their mental health is a long-standing goal for many neuroscientists, as it could help to predict the risk that people will develop specific neuropsychiatric conditions while als…