Mathiak Klaus, Hertrich Ingo, Kincses Wilhelm E, Riecker Axel, Lutzenberger Werner, Ackermann Hermann
Department of Neurology, Universität Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Str 47, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Neuroreport. 2003 Mar 3;14(3):307-11. doi: 10.1097/00001756-200303030-00002.
The neural mechanisms of auditory distance perception, a function of great biological importance, are poorly understood. Where not overruled by conflicting factors such as echoes or visual input, sound intensity is perceived as conveying distance information. We recorded neuromagnetic responses to amplitude variations over both supratemporal planes, with and without auditory spatial simulations. In the absence of other cues for distance, including those provided by auditory virtual reality, amplitude changes elicited enhanced preattentive responses over the right temporal lobe, indicating hemispheric lateralization of the 'where' pathway in the human. Lesion studies in monkeys and humans have shown that the rostral part of the right superior temporal cortex contributes to spatial awareness in the visual domain. Our data indicate that the distance to a sound source is processed within the adjacent right auditory cortex, thus extending the recent model of a right-hemisphere temporal multisensory matrix that subserves the integration of space-related data across visual and auditory modalities.
