| Sound localization is important for alerting animals to danger, capturing prey, or avoiding predators. In humans, localization increases the comprehension of speech in noisy reverberant environments. Yet how auditory space is represented in the brain and how these representations are influenced during development remains elusive. For example, the normal physical development of an animal (growing head size) substantially alters the cues to sound location. Does the auditory system compensate for these changes, allowing developing animals to still accurately localize sounds? Is there a sensitive period for the development of localization during which the binaural auditory system adjusts to the changing cues? Identifying the developmental processes subject to sensitive periods and their durations are important for clinical diagnoses and interventions. The proposed research tests a broad hypothesis regarding the development of the normal auditory system, with particular emphasis on how it pertains to sound localization. |
