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Glite Dictionary
auditory center

auditory center

5.2
The part of the brain at the side of the head that processes sounds from the ear
  • noun
  • /ˈɔːdɪtɔri ˈsɛntər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : centro auditivo
  • Researchers study the auditory center to understand how we recognize different sounds.

Examples

  • "All we're going to do is insert an electrode into Geoffrey's auditory center so that we can blank out those voices he's hearing—or rather, so that he can do it himself, just by pressing a button.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • His voice, fed to their auditory centers, sounded conversational.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The roar increases until the auditory center of my brain simply cannot fathom it, and the Earth shakes; the wind becomes daunting.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The auditory center plays a crucial role in how we perceive music and sounds.

  • Damage to the auditory center can lead to difficulties in processing spoken language.

Synonyms

auditory cortex
vsauditory center
  • Specialized
1 6.0

Part of the brain that handles sounds from the ears like speech or music

is in the temporal lobe rather than the brain's outer layer
auditory area
vsauditory center
  • Specialized
6.6

The part of the brain that receives and processes sound

is defined by its temporal lobe location rather than by one input pathway

Surface Forms

auditory center singular
auditory centers plural

Morphology

auditory + center

The phrase is compositionally built from 'auditory' (related to hearing) + 'center' (a place or focal point), so a learner who knows both words can readily infer it refers to a place (here, a brain region) involved in hearing. This pattern is cross-linguistically common (e.g., equivalents in other languages refer to the hearing center), making the meaning predictable for a B1 learner.

Etymology

The term auditory center combines auditory (about 'hearing') and center (a main place). Think of it as a small control room in the brain where sounds from the ear arrive and are sorted. That's why it means the part of the brain that processes sounds and helps with 'hearing'.