Prefrontal neurons encode call meaning independent of acoustic form

Evidence

Beyond the auditory cortex, neurons represent categories that are formed based on the abstract information that is transmitted by sounds. vlPFC neurons represent the valence of food-related calls (e.g., high quality food vs. low quality food) (Gifford et al. 2005 ). That is, vlPFC neurons encode the “referential” information that is transmitted by vocalizations, independent of differences in their acoustic properties. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4878

Categorization

• XREF: vlPFC referential coding abstracted from acoustics parallels Marr-style representational level separation and the broader ‘what’ pathway literature.