The auditory processing pathway. The speech perception begins with the cochlear nucleus and proceeds through a series of relay nucleus, including the superior olivary complex, the inferior colliculus, and the medial geniculate nucleus. Each of these nuclei decodes and integrates the incoming auditory information before forwarding it to the next stage of processing. Finally, the auditory cortex receives and analyzes the integrated signals, enabling the perception of speech. (Adopted from [91]).