The Auditory Cortex Explained to the Happy Few * The Auditory Cortex. A Synthesis of Human and Non-human Research: Konig, R., Heil, P., Budinger, E., & Scheich, H. (Eds.). (2005). The Auditory Cortex. A Synthesis * of Human and Non-human Research. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 512 pages. * Hardback. $89.98.
Cindie Courtin · The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education · 2005
Here is a 500-page—28-chapter—book about the auditory cortex. At first, one could think that there is no need for 500 pages in order to present this seemingly little part of the cortex. But this book gives a really in-depth presentation, by worldwide experts in this domain, about what is known (and unknown) on the topic. Many important questions are addressed (and of course have not yet received answers), many possible interesting issues are raised, … but all this is written in a quite technical way, which quickly gives the reader the feeling that the book is addressed more to “profession professionals” than to mere common people. In two parts are addressed the anatomy of the auditory cortex (from the rat up to humans) and the way for coding sounds (here the reader should have some knowledge in physics or mathematics in order to understand), and one part is more accessible to researchers in cognitive psychology: “Plasticity, learning and cognition.” One then realizes that, in fact, science knows quite little about the auditory cortex and the relation between cognition and the brain. For example, what are the neural bases for cognitive adaptation and perceptual learning? In fact, research on this part of the brain seems to lay in its beginnings, particularly when compared to the visual cortex for example. And this book is, surely, one of the best syntheses of all that is known at the present time.