In their short article, Auditory cortex mapmaking: Principles, projections, and plasticity, Schreiner and Winer discuss the possibilities that auditory cortex mapmaking involves. Because of the necessity to take into account not only the visual, but also the acoustical and sensory information concerning the processes within a human brain in the course of an operation on auditory cortex, the concept of mapmaking has been introduced.
Mapmaking allows to locate the problem very fast and efficiently; however, the way in which auditory cortex maps are made, organized and applied to practice needs a serious study. The methods, which Schreiner and Winer used in their study, can be described as computer modeling. The authors offer a profound literature review, therefore, creating a solid theoretical framework for their study. The key assumption of Schreiner and Winer is that maps, no matter how well-drawn and technologically perfect they might be, will never provide a full overview of the processes within the auditory cortex. However, since a human brain is rather task oriented than confined to stimulus representation, it can be considered that “how auditory maps are made physiologically and anatomically can offer clues as to their function” (Schreiner & Winer, 2007, 257).
According to the results, a stable topographic framework can provide “a reference state suitable for perception, learning, and memory” (Schreiner & Winer, 2007, 362). On the one hand, the article offers a fair and detailed account of the recent changes in the auditory complex mapmaking, therefore, making a very solid basis for the further discussion, with impressive graphic visual aids. On the other hand, the paper does not mention such an important method of auditory cortex mapmaking as modified areal cartography. One of the latest suggestions for mapmaking, the given method seems rather promising and, therefore, deserves being mentioned in the paper.
Reference List
Schreiner & Winer, (2007). Auditory cortex mapmaking: Principles, projections, and plasticity. Neuron, 56, 356–365.