Organization and Correspondence of the Auditory Cortex of Humans and Nonhuman Primates

The identification of areas that contribute to auditory processing in the human cerebral cortex has been the subject of sporadic investigation for more than one century. Although several models of the human auditory cortex have been advanced, none have been widely accepted, and classical descriptions remain influential. In the last 50 years, studies of non-human primates and other mammalian species have been emphasized. From these studies, common features of organization have begun to emerge. Of particular interest are comparative anatomical studies of monkeys, apes, and humans in which corresponding regions of auditory cortex have been identified. To some extent, these findings have been validated by functional imaging experiments. While it is not expected that the organization of auditory cortex will be identical across taxa, it appears that homologous areas have been retained, with the possibility that additional areas characterize the auditory cortex of apes and humans. The differences in auditory cortex organization are expected to contribute to the well-known differences in the perception and production of speech and music among primates, and may also reveal clues about the evolution of these abilities.