The superior colliculus is the only mammalian brain nucleus with a topographical auditory map

Evidence

The SC includes a map of the auditory space that is aligned with the visual map in such a manner that the neurons responsive to auditory or visual stimuli from a certain direction are found close to one another. Some SC neurons also respond to multimodal stimulation originating from the same spatial location (Meredith and Stein, 1986). Interestingly, the topographical organization of the auditory space has been found only in the SC of all brain nuclei in the mammalian auditory system. — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 810

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies what the superior colliculus is and does: integrates auditory and visual spatial maps for orienting head and gaze.
• XREF: Connects to spatial audio and cross-modal perception work; relevant to binaural hearing and sound localization systems.