Central auditory processing: integration with other systems

Excerpt

The present volume of Experimental Brain Research covers a substantial part of the scientific content of a scientific meeting that took place in May 2002 at the Conference Center of the Stefano Franscini Foundation at Monte Verita (Ascona), Switzerland. The aim of the invited editors and organizers of the meeting (S.E. Shore, S. Clarke and E.M. Rouiller) was to survey the current knowledge concerning processing of acoustic information in the central auditory system with emphasis on various aspects of integration of auditory and non-auditory information. Most scientific contributions thus focused on interactions between discrete auditory structures, or anatomical and functional connections with other sensory systems or with the motor system. Along the same line, the meeting addressed issues related to the role of auditory processing in animal or human behavioral models. Some contributors discussed the mechanisms by which central auditory processing is altered as a result of peripheral hearing impairment, resulting in the perception of phantom sounds, or tinnitus. This disease is a good example of pathological changes affecting several stations of the central auditory system as well as its interactions with other sensory modalities. …