SPATIAL+LOCALIZATION,+ATTENTION+&+ENVIRONMENTAL+SOUNDS

SPATIAL LOCALIZATION, ATTENTION & ENVIRONMENTAL SOUNDS
In conjunction with the inferior colliculus and the frontal lobe and due to bilateral auditory input, the primary auditory area plays a significant role in orienting to and localizing the source of various sounds; for example, by comparing time and intensity differences in the neural input from each ear. Among mammals, a consideral number of auditory neurons respond or become highly excited only in response to sounds from a particular location. Some become excited only when the subject looks at the source of the sound. Hence, these neurons act so that location may be identified and fixated upon. In addition to the frontal lobe these complex interactions probably involve the parietal area (7), as well as the midbrain colliculi and limbic system.

There is also some indication that certain cells in the auditory area are highly specialized and will respond only to certain meaningful vocalizations - to respond only to specific auditory parameters so as to identify and extract certain meaningful features, i.e. feature detector cells. E.g. cries of alarm, suggestive of fear or indicating danger

right temporal region is more adept at identifying and recognizing acoustically related sounds and non-verbal environmental acoustics (e.g. wind, rain, animal noises), prosodic-melodic nuances, sounds which convey emotional meaning, as well as most aspects of music including temp and meter

Indeed, the right temporal lobes spatial-localization sensitivity coupled with its ability to perceive and recognize environmental sounds no doubt provided great survival value to early primitive man and woman. That is, in response to a specific sound (e.g. a creeping predator), one is able to immediately identify, localize, locate, and fixate upon the source and thus take appropriate action.