Discrimination of sinusoidally frequency-modulated sound signals mimicking species-specific communication calls in the FM-bat Phyllostomus discolor

1997 ◽  
Vol 180 (5) ◽  
pp. 513-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.-H. Esser ◽  
B. Lud
Keyword(s):  
Fm Bat ◽  
Communication Calls ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Phyllostomus Discolor

scholarly journals Processing of fast amplitude modulations in bat auditory cortex matches communication call-specific sound features

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (4) ◽  
pp. 1501-1512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Gareth Hörpel ◽  
Uwe Firzlaff
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Transfer Functions ◽  
Modulation Transfer ◽  
Modulation Transfer Functions ◽  
Communication Calls ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Frequency Modulations ◽  
Phyllostomus Discolor ◽  
Sound Features

Bats use a large repertoire of calls for social communication. In the bat Phyllostomus discolor, social communication calls are often characterized by sinusoidal amplitude and frequency modulations with modulation frequencies in the range of 100–130 Hz. However, peaks in mammalian auditory cortical modulation transfer functions are typically limited to modulation frequencies below 100 Hz. We investigated the coding of sinusoidally amplitude modulated sounds in auditory cortical neurons in P. discolor by constructing rate and temporal modulation transfer functions. Neuronal responses to playbacks of various communication calls were additionally recorded and compared with the neurons’ responses to sinusoidally amplitude-modulated sounds. Cortical neurons in the posterior dorsal field of the auditory cortex were tuned to unusually high modulation frequencies: rate modulation transfer functions often peaked around 130 Hz (median: 87 Hz), and the median of the highest modulation frequency that evoked significant phase-locking was also 130 Hz. Both values are much higher than reported from the auditory cortex of other mammals, with more than 51% of the units preferring modulation frequencies exceeding 100 Hz. Conspicuously, the fast modulations preferred by the neurons match the fast amplitude and frequency modulations of prosocial, and mostly of aggressive, communication calls in P. discolor. We suggest that the preference for fast amplitude modulations in the P. discolor dorsal auditory cortex serves to reliably encode the fast modulations seen in their communication calls. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Neural processing of temporal sound features is crucial for the analysis of communication calls. In bats, these calls are often characterized by fast temporal envelope modulations. Because auditory cortex neurons typically encode only low modulation frequencies, it is unclear how species-specific vocalizations are cortically processed. We show that auditory cortex neurons in the bat Phyllostomus discolor encode fast temporal envelope modulations. This property improves response specificity to communication calls and thus might support species-specific communication.

scholarly journals Differing Roles of Inhibition in Hierarchical Processing of Species-Specific Calls in Auditory Brainstem Nuclei

2005 ◽  
Vol 94 (6) ◽  
pp. 4019-4037 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruili Xie ◽  
John Meitzen ◽  
George D. Pollak
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Brainstem ◽  
Lateral Lemniscus ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Hierarchical Processing ◽  
Tuning Curves ◽  
Neuronal Populations ◽  
Dorsal Nucleus ◽  
Brainstem Nuclei ◽  
Communication Calls ◽  
Species Specific

Here we report on response properties and the roles of inhibition in three brain stem nuclei of Mexican-free tailed bats: the inferior colliculus (IC), the dorsal nucleus of the lateral lemniscus (DNLL) and the intermediate nucleus of the lateral lemniscus (INLL). In each nucleus, we documented the response properties evoked by both tonal and species-specific signals and evaluated the same features when inhibition was blocked. There are three main findings. First, DNLL cells have little or no surround inhibition and are unselective for communication calls, in that they responded to ∼97% of the calls that were presented. Second, most INLL neurons are characterized by wide tuning curves and are unselective for species-specific calls. The third finding is that the IC population is strikingly different from the neuronal populations in the INLL and DNLL. Where DNLL and INLL neurons are unselective and respond to most or all of the calls in the suite we presented, most IC cells are selective for calls and, on average, responded to ∼50% of the calls we presented. Additionally, the selectivity for calls in the majority of IC cells, as well as their tuning and other response properties, are strongly shaped by inhibitory innervation. Thus we show that inhibition plays only limited roles in the DNLL and INLL but dominates in the IC, where the various patterns of inhibition sculpt a wide variety of emergent response properties from the backdrop of more expansive and far less specific excitatory innervation.

scholarly journals Cyto- and myeloarchitectural brain atlas of the pale spear-nosed bat (Phyllostomus discolor) in CT Aided Stereotaxic Coordinates

2020 ◽  
Vol 225 (8) ◽  
pp. 2509-2520
Author(s):  
Susanne Radtke-Schuller ◽  
Thomas Fenzl ◽  
Herbert Peremans ◽  
Gerd Schuller ◽  
Uwe Firzlaff
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Plane ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Electronic Version ◽  
Brain Atlas ◽  
Brain Surface ◽  
Key Species ◽  
High Resolution Images ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Phyllostomus Discolor ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract The pale spear-nosed bat Phyllostomus discolor, a microchiropteran bat, is well established as an animal model for research on the auditory system, echolocation and social communication of species-specific vocalizations. We have created a brain atlas of Phyllostomus discolor that provides high-quality histological material for identification of brain structures in reliable stereotaxic coordinates to strengthen neurobiological studies of this key species. The new atlas combines high-resolution images of frontal sections alternately stained for cell bodies (Nissl) and myelinated fibers (Gallyas) at 49 rostrocaudal levels, at intervals of 350 µm. To facilitate comparisons with other species, brain structures were named according to the widely accepted Paxinos nomenclature and previous neuroanatomical studies of other bat species. Outlines of auditory cortical fields, as defined in earlier studies, were mapped onto atlas sections and onto the brain surface, together with the architectonic subdivisions of the neocortex. X-ray computerized tomography (CT) of the bat’s head was used to establish the relationship between coordinates of brain structures and the skull. We used profile lines and the occipital crest as skull landmarks to line up skull and brain in standard atlas coordinates. An easily reproducible protocol allows sectioning of experimental brains in the standard frontal plane of the atlas. An electronic version of the atlas plates and supplementary material is available from 10.12751/g-node.8bbcxy

Electron Microscopy in the Study of Natural Phytoplankton Assemblages

1985 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 620-623
Author(s):  
Linda Sicko-Goad
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Aquatic Environment ◽  
Size Range ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Phytoplankton Assemblages ◽  
Phytoplankton Productivity ◽  
Ecosystem Effects ◽  
Time Of Year ◽  
Species Specific

Although the use of electron microscopy and its varied methodologies is not usually associated with ecological studies, the types of species specific information that can be generated by these techniques are often quite useful in predicting long-term ecosystem effects. The utility of these techniques is especially apparent when one considers both the size range of particles found in the aquatic environment and the complexity of the phytoplankton assemblages.The size range and character of organisms found in the aquatic environment are dependent upon a variety of physical parameters that include sampling depth, location, and time of year. In the winter months, all the Laurentian Great Lakes are uniformly mixed and homothermous in the range of 1.1 to 1.7°C. During this time phytoplankton productivity is quite low.

64: Rapid, Species-Specific Detection of Uropathogens from Clinical Urine Specimens Using an Electrochemical Microsensor Array

2005 ◽  
Vol 173 (4S) ◽  
pp. 18-18
Author(s):  
Joseph C. Liao ◽  
Mitra Mastali ◽  
David A. Haake ◽  
Bernard M. Churchill
Keyword(s):  
Specific Detection ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Urine Specimens
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