Kaas J H, Hackett T A
Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000 Oct 24;97(22):11793-9. doi: 10.1073/pnas.97.22.11793.
The auditory system of monkeys includes a large number of interconnected subcortical nuclei and cortical areas. At subcortical levels, the structural components of the auditory system of monkeys resemble those of nonprimates, but the organization at cortical levels is different. In monkeys, the ventral nucleus of the medial geniculate complex projects in parallel to a core of three primary-like auditory areas, AI, R, and RT, constituting the first stage of cortical processing. These areas interconnect and project to the homotopic and other locations in the opposite cerebral hemisphere and to a surrounding array of eight proposed belt areas as a second stage of cortical processing. The belt areas in turn project in overlapping patterns to a lateral parabelt region with at least rostral and caudal subdivisions as a third stage of cortical processing. The divisions of the parabelt distribute to adjoining auditory and multimodal regions of the temporal lobe and to four functionally distinct regions of the frontal lobe. Histochemically, chimpanzees and humans have an auditory core that closely resembles that of monkeys. The challenge for future researchers is to understand how this complex system in monkeys analyzes and utilizes auditory information.
猴子的听觉系统包括大量相互连接的皮层下核团和皮层区域。在皮层下水平，猴子听觉系统的结构组成与非灵长类动物相似，但在皮层水平的组织方式有所不同。在猴子中，内侧膝状体复合体的腹侧核平行投射到三个初级样听觉区域AI、R和RT组成的核心区域，构成皮层处理的第一阶段。这些区域相互连接，并投射到对侧大脑半球的同位区域和其他位置，以及周围一系列八个拟议的带状区域，作为皮层处理的第二阶段。带状区域继而以重叠模式投射到外侧旁带状区域，该区域至少有嘴侧和尾侧亚区，作为皮层处理的第三阶段。旁带状区域的分区分布到颞叶相邻的听觉和多模态区域以及额叶的四个功能不同的区域。从组织化学角度来看，黑猩猩和人类有一个与猴子非常相似的听觉核心。未来研究人员面临的挑战是了解猴子的这个复杂系统如何分析和利用听觉信息。
