The auditory neurobiology of marsupials: a review.

The marsupials, the large group of mammals which develop during fetal life in an externalized pouch, have been given little attention by auditory neurobiologists. In this review the structure of the auditory systems of the handful of marsupials which have been studied is described, the course of auditory development mapped, and the behavioral and electrophysiological manifestations of hearing examined. It is argued that research on the highly accessible developing marsupial will provide information about the development of hearing difficult to obtain from, but applicable to all, mammalian species.