Specialization of Binaural Responses in Ventral Auditory Cortices

Accurate orientation to sound under challenging conditions requires auditory cortex, but it is unclear how spatial attributes of the auditory scene are represented at this level. Current organization schemes follow a functional division whereby dorsal and ventral auditory cortices specialize to encode spatial and object features of sound source, respectively. However, few studies have examined spatial cue sensitivities in ventral cortices to support or reject such schemes. Here Fourier optical imaging was used to quantify best frequency responses and corresponding gradient organization in primary (A1), anterior, posterior, ventral (VAF), and suprarhinal (SRAF) auditory fields of the rat. Spike rate sensitivities to binaural interaural level difference (ILD) and average binaural level cues were probed in A1 and two ventral cortices, VAF and SRAF. Continuous distributions of best ILDs and ILD tuning metrics were observed in all cortices, suggesting this horizontal position cue is well covered. VAF and caudal SRAF in the right cerebral hemisphere responded maximally to midline horizontal position cues, whereas A1 and rostral SRAF responded maximally to ILD cues favoring more eccentric positions in the contralateral sound hemifield. SRAF had the highest incidence of binaural facilitation for ILD cues corresponding to midline positions, supporting current theories that auditory cortices have specialized and hierarchical functional organization.