Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Sound Maps

Molecule identified that is essential for the brain to process sound signals

16 May 2019

Sound Maps

We navigate the world around us by creating maps of the things we see, smell, hear and touch. These 'maps' are a collection of cells organised topographically in the brain areas that process sensory cues from our environment. For sounds, cells that respond to a specific frequency are clustered next to cells for similar frequencies. To better understand how these maps are formed, a team of scientists genetically manipulated the auditory neurons of mice. They found that mouse embryos lacking a certain transcription factor didn’t have topographical maps in the cochlea (shown in this image) or inferior colliculus, two of the first sensory organs that relay auditory signals from the ear to the brain. This study presents some of the first evidence that there is a limit to how ‘plastic’ sensory pathways are, and that we rely on molecular cues in early development to create topographical maps of our environment.

Written by Gaëlle Coullon

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.