What is the somatotopic organization of the temporal cortex?

• A. Tonotopic
• B. Retinotopic
• C. Somatotopic
• D. Chemotopic

Answer: (A)

Tonotopic organization maps sound frequencies across the auditory cortex, with neighboring neurons responding to nearby frequencies. In the temporal lobe’s auditory areas, this creates a frequency gradient that mirrors how the cochlea encodes sound along its basilar membrane. That’s why the temporal cortex is described as tonotopically organized. The other terms don’t fit here: retinotopic refers to visual-space mapping in areas of the visual system, somatotopic to a body-part map in somatosensory/motor areas, and chemotopic isn’t the standard descriptor used for the auditory cortex.