Symmetrical lateralization of function in the auditory system of the cat: effects of unilateral ablation of cortex.

We have presented behavioral evidence suggesting that one function of auditory cortex is to attend to stimuli at the contralateral ear. Further, behavioral and anatomic evidence shows that the neural mechanisms for this function probably depend on a pathway that crosses at the level of the medulla, bypasses the superior olive, and ascends to the contralateral inferior colliculus. At higher centers there are several auditory pathways from thalamus to cortex, as well as descending pathways from cortex, and some of these pathways may play a role in selective listening with one ear.