[Role of the temporal neocortex in the mechanisms of spatial hearing at different stages in the ontogenesis of cats].

Significance of the temporal (AI, AII, Ep, IT) cortical areas for localization of acoustic stimuli sources of various parameters (tones 0.25-5 kHz, polytonal signals, clicks) was studied in acute and chronic experiments on kittens in the age of 15-90 days and on adult cats. The temporal areas were shown to take part in localization of tones beginning from third week, in that of polytonal signals from the second month, and in that of clicks from the third month of life. The degree of the corticalization of the mechanisms of stimuli localization is not the same in adult animals as well, the most corticalized being the mechanisms of tone localization, the least corticalized--that of clicks. Heterofunctionality of the right and the left temporal areas in the mechanisms of the spatial hearing has been revealed. In ontogeny the right temporal area functionally forestalls the left one. The role of the callosal body in the spatial orientation becomes apparent from the second month of life and consists mainly in ability to localize the sources of monotonal signals.