Mapping Tonotopy in Human Auditory Cortex

Tonotopy is arguably the most prominent organizational principle in the auditory pathway. Nevertheless, the layout of tonotopic maps in humans is still debated. We present neuroimaging data that robustly identify multiple tonotopic maps in the bilateral auditory cortex. In contrast with some earlier publications, tonotopic gradients were not found to be collinearly aligned along Heschl's gyrus; instead, two tonotopic maps ran diagonally across the anterior and posterior banks of Heschl's gyrus, set at a pronounced angle. On the basis of the direction of the tonotopic gradient, distinct subdivisions of the auditory cortex could be clearly demarcated that suggest homologies with the tonotopic organization in other primates. Finally, we applied our method to tinnitus patients to show that - contradictory to some pathophysiological models - tinnitus does not necessarily involve large-scale tonotopic reorganization. Overall, we expect that tonotopic mapping techniques will significantly enhance our ability to study the hierarchical functional organization of distinct auditory processing centers in the healthy and diseased human brain.