The neural correlates of social communication: role of PEEF in auditory orienting.

Hypothesis as for auditory system hierarchical organization suggest the same organization of visual system. Anatomical and physiological data propose auditory system consisting of two streams, dorsal and ventral, which project together to the frontal lobe. The dorsal one brings auditory spatial information while the ventral one brings information as for the sound recognition. Considering both anatomical and electrophysiological evidence we propose that in dorsolateral frontal cortex there is an integration of both auditory streams. In fact, previous electrophysiological investigations support the anatomical data showing how in PEEF (area 8B) there are different kind of auditory or auditory motor neurons: neurons firing for the integration of auditory complex stimuli and eye and/or ear movements, pure auditory neurons firing for experimenters' voice, pure auditory neurons firing for sound's spatial direction. Here, we present preliminary data supporting the hypothesis that PEEF plays an important role as link between the auditory and motor system. We show a population of neurons firing for animals' and species-specific vocalizations and for head motor control. We propose PEEF as an important node for gaze and attentional shift toward auditory stimuli.