• Evidence for evolutionary dive...

*Result*: Evidence for evolutionary divergence in temporal integration windows between human and monkey auditory cortex.

Title:
Evidence for evolutionary divergence in temporal integration windows between human and monkey auditory cortex.
Authors:
Dheerendra P; School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, G128QB, UK; Biosciences Institute, and Centre for Transformative Neuroscience, Newcastle University, NE24HH, UK. Electronic address: pradeep.dheerendra@gmail.com., Petkov CI; Biosciences Institute, and Centre for Transformative Neuroscience, Newcastle University, NE24HH, UK; Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, IA 52242-1089, USA., Rees A; Biosciences Institute, and Centre for Transformative Neuroscience, Newcastle University, NE24HH, UK., Griffiths TD; Biosciences Institute, and Centre for Transformative Neuroscience, Newcastle University, NE24HH, UK; Department of Imaging Neuroscience, University College London, WC1N 3BG, UK.
Source:
Hearing research [Hear Res] 2026 Jan; Vol. 469, pp. 109489. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Nov 27.
Publication Type:
Journal Article; Review; Comparative Study
Language:
English
Journal Info:
Publisher: Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 7900445 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1878-5891 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 03785955 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Hear Res Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s):
Original Publication: Amsterdam, Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press.
MeSH Terms:
Auditory Cortex*/physiology , Auditory Cortex*/anatomy & histology , Biological Evolution* , Auditory Perception*, Brain Mapping/methods ; Auditory Pathways/physiology ; Animals ; Humans ; Acoustic Stimulation ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Species Specificity ; Time Factors ; Callithrix ; Macaca
Contributed Indexing:
Keywords: Humans; NHPs; Primates; Time window processing; Timescales
Entry Date(s):
Date Created: 20251201 Date Completed: 20251225 Latest Revision: 20251231
Update Code:
20260130
DOI:
10.1016/j.heares.2025.109489
PMID:
41325708
Database:
MEDLINE

*Further Information*

*The cortical representation of the temporal dimension of sound in the primate auditory cortex remains an open question. In this work, we review studies that investigated the brain basis for the processing of acoustic time windows in humans, macaques and marmosets that employ functional magnetic resonance imaging and neurophysiological recordings. We identify the functional anatomy of response patterns to temporal integration for each study, to arrive at a representative organization in humans and non-human primates (NHP). A synthesis of prior studies identifies a certain level of commonality for temporal processing in primates. Surprisingly, however, our analysis revealed that while both humans and NHPs process shorter time-windows in postero-medial areas and longer time-windows in non-primary lateral areas, macaque neurobiological responses in primary auditory cortex appear to favor shorter temporal timescales than human primary auditory cortex. This difference in neurobiological sensitivity is in line with behavioural sensitivities in these species. This review and analysis results raise the possibility of evolutionary specialization of the human cortex relative to nonhuman primates, potentially for the processing of speech which requires sensitivity to longer timescales.
(Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)*

*Declaration of competing interest The authors disclose that there is no conflict of interest.*