REVUE DES PROPRIÉTÉS DE RÉPONSE DES NEURONES DES VOIES AUDITIVES CHEZ LE CHAT, DU NERF COCHLÉAIRE AU CORTEX CÉRÉBRAL : ÉVIDENCES ANATOMIQUES ET FONCTIONNELLES EN FAVEUR D'UN TRAITEMENT DE L'INFORMATION ACOUSTIQUE PARALLÈLE ET HIÉRARCHIQUE

Abstract
The basic characteristics (both anatomical and functional) of the primary auditory neurons, whose axons constitute the auditory nerve, are related to their mode of coding of the acoustic information, in response to pure tones and speech-like acoustic stimuli. The progressive transformation of this information along the auditory pathways (up to the auditory cortex) is discussed in the context of the organization of the auditory system in parallel functional channels, possibly contributing to the processing of distinct aspects of the acoustic information. The segregated parallel functional channels, reaching finally distinct auditory cortical fields, can be distinguished from each other by their connectional properties, as well as their response characteristics to simple acoustic stimuli. The auditory system, in particular at thalamic and cortical levels, presents a general pattern of organization comparable to that reported for the visual system, consisting of a combination of functional modules, arranged in parallel as well as hierarchically, and specialized for various visual tasks. However, the functional specialization of the various modules of the auditory system remains to be elucidated.