Abstract
Interaural time difference (ITD) is a critical cue to sound-source localization. Traditional models assume that sounds leading at one ear, and perceived on that side, are processed in the opposite midbrain. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging we demonstrate that as the ITDs of sounds increase, midbrain activity can switch sides, even though perceived location remains on the same side. The data require a new model for human ITD processing.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by Medical Research Council Programme Grant (S.K.T., A.D.-P., T.M. and D.M.), the Volkswagen foundation (K.v.K.) and the Wellcome Trust (T.D.G.).
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K.v.K. contributed to brain imaging, data analysis and development and editing of the manuscript. S.K.T. contributed to brain imaging, data analysis and stimulus construction. A.D.-P. contributed to stimulus design and construction, and to initial brain imaging experiments. R.D. developed the fMRI sequence optimized for imaging the inferior colliculus. T.M. contributed to the development of the experimental hypothesis, stimulus design and development of the π-limit model. T.D.G. contributed to data analysis and to development and editing of the manuscript. D.M. contributed to the development of the experimental hypothesis, stimulus design, development of the π-limit model and development and editing of the manuscript.
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Supplementary Fig. 1
Functional mapping of the IC for the 14 individual subjects separately. (PDF 95 kb)
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Thompson, S., von Kriegstein, K., Deane-Pratt, A. et al. Representation of interaural time delay in the human auditory midbrain. Nat Neurosci 9, 1096–1098 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1755
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1755
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