The interaural time difference when concerning humans or animals, is the difference in arrival time of a sound between two ears. It is important in the localization of sounds, as it provides a cue to the direction or angle of the sound source from the head.

How does interaural time difference work?

The interaural time difference is the time interval between when a sound enters one ear and when it enters the other ear. In principle, this is a rather straightforward concept. A sound coming to us from the left will enter our left ear a split second before it enters our right ear.

What part of the brain detects the interaural time difference?

Detection of interaural differences begins in the nucleus laminaris, which receives input from the magnocellular cochlear nuclei (Taka- hashi and Konishi, 1988a).