A rich history of comparative research in the auditory field has afforded a synthetic view of
sound information processing by ears and brains. Some organisms have proven to be …

The barn owl, a nocturnal raptor with remarkably efficient prey-capturing abilities, has been
one of the initial animal models used for research of brain mechanisms underlying sound …

Skilled behavior often displays signatures of Bayesian inference. In order for the brain to
implement the required computations, neuronal activity must carry accurate information …

The natural environment challenges the brain to prioritize the processing of salient stimuli.
The barn owl, a sound localization specialist, exhibits a circuit called the midbrain stimulus …

A major cue to infer sound direction is the difference in arrival time of the sound at the left
and right ears, called interaural time difference (ITD). The neural coding of ITD and its …

Detection of interaural time differences (ITDs) is crucial for sound localization in most
vertebrates. The current view is that optimal computational strategies of ITD detection …

This chapter reviews the anatomical structures and physiological processes that underlie the
perceptual effects of binaural hearing. Although the focus is on avian systems, pioneering …

Multisensory integration in mammalian superior colliculus and its avian homolog, the optic
tectum, is essential for rapid orienting towards salient stimuli. The benefits of combining …

In the auditory system, the spectrotemporal structure of acoustic signals determines the
temporal pattern of spikes. Here, we investigated this effect in neurons of the barn owl's …