TY - JOUR
T1 - Thalamic and parietal brain morphology predicts auditory category learning
AU - Scharinger, Mathias
AU - Henry, Molly J.
AU - Erb, Julia
AU - Meyer, Lars
AU - Obleser, Jonas
N1 - Funding Information:
Research was supported by the Max Planck Society (Max Planck Research Group fund to J.O.). We thank two anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful contributions.
Copyright:
Copyright 2014 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2014/1
Y1 - 2014/1
N2 - Auditory categorization is a vital skill involving the attribution of meaning to acoustic events, engaging domain-specific (i.e., auditory) as well as domain-general (e.g., executive) brain networks. A listener's ability to categorize novel acoustic stimuli should therefore depend on both, with the domain-general network being particularly relevant for adaptively changing listening strategies and directing attention to relevant acoustic cues. Here we assessed adaptive listening behavior, using complex acoustic stimuli with an initially salient (but later degraded) spectral cue and a secondary, duration cue that remained nondegraded. We employed voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to identify cortical and subcortical brain structures whose individual neuroanatomy predicted task performance and the ability to optimally switch to making use of temporal cues after spectral degradation. Behavioral listening strategies were assessed by logistic regression and revealed mainly strategy switches in the expected direction, with considerable individual differences. Gray-matter probability in the left inferior parietal lobule (BA 40) and left precentral gyrus was predictive of "optimal" strategy switch, while gray-matter probability in thalamic areas, comprising the medial geniculate body, co-varied with overall performance. Taken together, our findings suggest that successful auditory categorization relies on domain-specific neural circuits in the ascending auditory pathway, while adaptive listening behavior depends more on brain structure in parietal cortex, enabling the (re)direction of attention to salient stimulus properties.
AB - Auditory categorization is a vital skill involving the attribution of meaning to acoustic events, engaging domain-specific (i.e., auditory) as well as domain-general (e.g., executive) brain networks. A listener's ability to categorize novel acoustic stimuli should therefore depend on both, with the domain-general network being particularly relevant for adaptively changing listening strategies and directing attention to relevant acoustic cues. Here we assessed adaptive listening behavior, using complex acoustic stimuli with an initially salient (but later degraded) spectral cue and a secondary, duration cue that remained nondegraded. We employed voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to identify cortical and subcortical brain structures whose individual neuroanatomy predicted task performance and the ability to optimally switch to making use of temporal cues after spectral degradation. Behavioral listening strategies were assessed by logistic regression and revealed mainly strategy switches in the expected direction, with considerable individual differences. Gray-matter probability in the left inferior parietal lobule (BA 40) and left precentral gyrus was predictive of "optimal" strategy switch, while gray-matter probability in thalamic areas, comprising the medial geniculate body, co-varied with overall performance. Taken together, our findings suggest that successful auditory categorization relies on domain-specific neural circuits in the ascending auditory pathway, while adaptive listening behavior depends more on brain structure in parietal cortex, enabling the (re)direction of attention to salient stimulus properties.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84889598614&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.09.012
DO - 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.09.012
M3 - Journal articles
C2 - 24035788
AN - SCOPUS:84889598614
VL - 53
SP - 75
EP - 83
JO - Neuropsychologia
JF - Neuropsychologia
SN - 0028-3932
IS - 1
ER -