A population of neurons selective for human voice in the monkey brain

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Giamundo, Margherita; Trapeau, Regis; Thoret, Etienne; Renaud, Luc; Nougaret, Simon; Brochier, Thomas G.; Belin, Pascal
• 署名单位: Aix-Marseille Universite; Assistance Publique-Hopitaux de Marseille; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); CNRS - National Institute for Biology (INSB)
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-13041
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2405588121
• 发表日期: 2024-06-18
• 关键词: auditory-cortex; vocalizations; region

摘要

Many animals can extract useful information from the vocalizations of other species. Neuroimaging studies have evidenced areas sensitive to conspecific vocalizations in the cerebral cortex of primates, but how these areas process heterospecific vocalizations remains unclear. Using fMRI - guided electrophysiology, we recorded the spiking activity of individual neurons in the anterior temporal voice patches of two macaques while they listened to complex sounds including vocalizations from several species. In addition to cells selective for conspecific macaque vocalizations, we identified an unsuspected subpopulation of neurons with strong selectivity for human voice, not merely explained by spectral or temporal structure of the sounds. The auditory representational geometry implemented by these neurons was strongly related to that measured in the human voice areas with neuroimaging and only weakly to low - level acoustical structure. These findings provide new insights into the neural mechanisms involved in auditory expertise and the evolution of communication systems in primates.