Have you ever noticed how you can suddenly hear your refrigerator humming in the background when you focus on it? Or how the sound of your name instantly catches your attention even in a noisy crowd?
University of MarylandJul 12 2024
Now, biologists at the University of Maryland are a step closer to solving that mystery. Using an animal model, the researchers found that the orbitofrontal cortex , a brain region associated with decision-making but not typically linked to hearing, plays a central role in helping the auditory cortex adapt to changing contexts or situations. The team's findings were published in the journal Current Biology on July 11, 2024.
"In short, the OFC sends signals to the auditory cortex when it's time to pay closer attention to sounds," Caras said. "It's not certain whether the signals are sent directly or indirectly via an intermediary brain region, but we do know that activity in the OFC is essential to how the gerbils behaved in our experiments."
Related Stories"In terms of a more human-oriented analogy, it would be as if I told you to suddenly pay attention to your refrigerator humming in the background," Caras explained. "If your OFC was silenced and unable to send a signal to your auditory cortex, you might have difficulty doing so because the ability to rapidly alter your sound perception would be impaired."
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