Auditory Imaging Unit

Description of the Lab/Research Project

When sound reaches the ear, it is transduced to electrical signals, which are extensively processed by hearing centers of the brain. This processing determines what we hear. The Auditory Imaging Unit studies how the human brain processes sound using imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magnetoencephalography (MEG). Our past and present work includes investigations into the neural representations of perceived loudness, pitch, repetition rate, and the segregation of our auditory environment into distinct objects or “streams.” The Unit is part of the Eaton-Peabody Laboratories and has close ties to the Athinoula A. Martinos Center.

Past and present Unit members:

Jennifer Melcher, Director

Christopher Bergevin Mark Oster

Andrew Dykstra Michael Ravicz

Alexander Gutschalk Irina Sigalovsky

Michael Harms Thomas Talavage

Monica Hawley E. Courtenay Wilson

Barbara Norris Hector Penagos

Past and present collaborators:

Bruce Fischl Christophe Micheyl

Barbara Fullerton Andrew Oxenham

John Guinan, Jr. Lawrence Wald

Christopher Halpin Robert Weisskoff

Robert Levine Alexander Guimaraes

Patrick Zurek Thomas Weigand