Acoustic radiation
Structures in the brain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Acoustic radiations (also called auditory radiations) are thalamocortical white-matter fiber bundles that convey auditory information from the medial geniculate nucleus of the thalamus to the primary auditory cortex in the temporal lobe of the brain.[1][2]
| Auditory radiations | |
|---|---|
Human auditory pathway. Acoustic radiation is shown as red arrow at center-top. | |
 | |
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | radiatio acustica |
| NeuroNames | 2084 |
| TA98 | A14.1.08.662 A14.1.09.545 |
| TA2 | 5587 |
| FMA | 62413 |
| Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy | |
Anatomy
The auditory radiations originate predominantly from relay neurons in the medial geniculate nucleus and terminate mainly in Heschl’s (transverse temporal) gyri (Brodmann areas 41 and 42), which contain the primary auditory cortex.[2][1] Along their course, the fibers travel through the deep subcortical white matter, within the internal capsule (especially the sublenticular segment) on their way to the cerebrum.[3]
Function
Clinical significance
Because auditory information from each ear is represented bilaterally at higher levels of the auditory pathway, unilateral injury to the auditory radiations typically does not cause complete deafness, whereas bilateral interruption of the auditory radiations and/or bilateral cortical injury can produce cortical deafness.[1][4] Case reports and series describe cortical hearing loss after sequential or bilateral lesions involving the auditory radiations and primary auditory cortices.[5][6]
