The Mating Call of the Terrestrial Toad, Rhinella arenarum, as a Cue for Spatial Orientation and Its Associated Brain Activity

2019 ◽  
Vol 94 (Suppl. 1-4) ◽  
pp. 7-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
María I. Sotelo ◽  
Verner P. Bingman ◽  
Rubén N. Muzio
Keyword(s):  
Hippocampal Formation ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Medial Septum ◽  
Spatial Behavior ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Amphibian Species ◽  
Communication Signal ◽  
Mating Call ◽  
Mating Calls ◽  
Rhinella Arenarum

Acoustic communication is essential for reproduction and predator avoidance in many anuran species. For example, mating calls are generally produced by males and represent a conspicuous communication signal employed during the breeding season. Although anuran mating calls have been largely studied to analyze content and phonotaxis toward choruses, they are rarely discussed as sources of information guiding spatial behavior in broader contexts. This is striking if we consider that previous studies have shown anurans to be impressive navigators. In the current study, we investigated whether terrestrial toad (Rhinella arenarum) males can use a mating call as a spatial cue to locate a water reward in a laboratory maze. Male toads could indeed learn the location of a reward guided by a mating call. This navigational ability, as indicated by c-Fos, was associated with greater neuronal activity in the telencephalic hippocampal formation (HF; also referred to in amphibians as medial pallium), the medial septum (MS), and the central amygdala (CeA). HF and MS are telencephalic structures associated with spatial navigation in mammals and other vertebrates. The CeA, by contrast, has been studied in the context of acoustic processing and communication in other amphibian species. The results are discussed in the framework of an evolutionary conserved, HF-septal spatial-cognitive network shared by amphibians and mammals.

scholarly journals A new species of Tomopterna (Anura: Ranidae) from the Kruger National Park, with notes on related species

Koedoe ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
N. I. Passmore ◽  
V. C. Carruthers
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
National Park ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
The Other ◽  
Defence Mechanisms ◽  
Calling Behaviour ◽  
Mating Call ◽  
Mating Calls ◽  
New Form ◽  
A New Species

A new species of Tomoptema, T. krugerensis, sp. n., has been recorded from the Kruger National Park, Republic of South Africa.Morphologically it is very similar to T. delalandei cryptotis (Boulenger) but the mating call is markedly different from that of the other members of the genus and this is coupled with small but consistent morphological differences.T. krugerensis sp. n. is known to occur only on a portion of the western fringe of the vast sandveld areas of Mozambique, but possibly has a much wider distribution. Mating call, calling behaviour, eggs, early development and defence mechanisms are described. The affinities of the new form are discussed and the mating calls of other members of the genus are reviewed. Mating call is again shown to be a sensitive non-morphological taxonomic tool.

Discharge patterns of hippocampal theta-related cells in the caudal diencephalon of the urethan-anesthetized rat

1995 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 322-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. H. Bland ◽  
J. Konopacki ◽  
I. J. Kirk ◽  
S. D. Oddie ◽  
C. T. Dickson
Keyword(s):  
Hippocampal Formation ◽  
Medial Septum ◽  
The Body ◽  
Hypothalamic Nucleus ◽  
Medial Nucleus ◽  
Hippocampal Field ◽  
Discharge Rates ◽  
Field Activity ◽  
Discharge Patterns ◽  
Hippocampal Theta

1. Single-unit discharge patterns of cells in specific nuclei of the caudal diencephalon were characterized in relation to simultaneously recorded field activity from the stratum moleculare of the dentate gyrus according to the criteria that have been used previously to classify cells in the hippocampal formation (including entorhinal cortex), medial septum, and cingulate cortex. Theta (theta)-related cells were classified as 1) tonic theta-ON, if they discharged nonrhythmically and increased their discharge rates during hippocampal theta relative to large, irregular hippocampal field activity (LIA); 2) tonic theta-OFF, if they discharged nonrhythmically and decreased their discharge rates during theta relative to LIA; or 3) phasic theta-ON, if they discharged rhythmically and in phase with ongoing theta, but nonrhythmically during LIA. Cells not meeting any of the above criteria were classified as nonrelated. 2. Recordings were obtained in a total of 127 cells from the caudal diencephalon. Recordings were made in 54 cells from the posterior hypothalamic nucleus (PH), 16 from the supramammillary nucleus (SuM), 20 from the PH/SuM border, and 23 from the medial mammillary nucleus (MM). Recordings were also made from nine cells from the central medial nucleus of the thalamus (CM) and five from the dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus (DMH). 3. Of the 54 PH cells, 43 (80%) were classified as tonic theta-ON and 11 (20%) as nonrelated. Tonic theta-ON cells in the PH discharged at significantly higher rates during theta, either occurring spontaneously (9.6 +/- 1.7 Hz, mean +/- SE) or elicited with a tail pinch (TP theta; 10.6 +/- 1.9 Hz), than during LIA (3.6 +/- 1.4 Hz). Of the nine CM cells, seven (78%) were tonic theta-ON and two (22%) were nonrelated. Tonic theta-ON cells discharged at significantly higher rates during theta (17.5 +/- 7.8 Hz) or TP theta (18.0 +/- 7.1 Hz) than during LIA (7.3 +/- 4.8 Hz). All DMH cells were nonrelated. 4. Of the 20 PH/SuM border cells, 15 (75%) were classified as tonic theta-OFF and discharged at significantly higher rates during LIA (5.3 +/- 1.5 Hz) than during theta (0.8 +/- 0.4 Hz) or TP theta (0.4 +/- 0.3 Hz). Five (25%) cells in the PH/SuM border were nonrelated. 5. All of the 16 cells (100%) recorded from the body of the SuM were phasic theta-ON. The discharge rates of these cells did not change significantly across hippocampal field states (LIA = 8.3 +/- 1.6; theta = 7.3 +/- 1.6; TP theta = 8.6 +/- 1.7 Hz).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Functional Connectivity Between the Red Nucleus and the Hippocampus Supports the Role of Hippocampal Formation in Sensorimotor Integration

2004 ◽  
Vol 92 (4) ◽  
pp. 2040-2050 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audny T. Dypvik ◽  
Brian H. Bland
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Sensorimotor Integration ◽  
Hippocampal Formation ◽  
Discharge Rate ◽  
Red Nucleus ◽  
Medial Septum ◽  
Procaine Hydrochloride ◽  
Integration Model ◽  
Functional Connections ◽  
Field Activity

Experiments were carried out in urethane-anesthetized rats to evaluate the hypothesis that the red nucleus has functional connections with the hippocampal formation. Depth profiles of electrical stimulation in experiment 1 confirmed that stimulation administered to the red nucleus elicited theta field activity in the hippocampal formation with a linear relationship between stimulus intensity and theta frequency. Experiment 2 showed that microinfusion of local anesthetic procaine hydrochloride into the medial septum resulted in a reversible blockade of theta field activity elicited by electrical stimulation of the red nucleus. In experiment 3, the discharge activity of red nucleus cells was recorded during the field conditions of hippocampal synchrony (theta) and hippocampal asynchrony [large amplitude irregular activity (LIA)]. Analysis revealed that 26/46 (56%) of red nucleus cells were theta-related, whereas the remaining 20 (44%) were nonrelated. The majority of theta-related cells were classified as tonic theta-on. A brief increase above the basal discharge rate of tonic theta-on red nucleus cells during LIA predicted the transition from LIA to theta with 400- to 500-ms latency. Furthermore, higher frequency transitional discharges predicted higher theta frequencies, whereas higher discharge rates during theta predicted shifts to higher theta frequencies. The results supported the conclusion that the red nucleus, traditionally associated with motor functions, is functionally connected with the neural circuitry involved in the generation of theta band oscillation and synchrony in the hippocampal formation, in agreement with the predictions of the sensorimotor integration model of hippocampal function.

scholarly journals Plasticity in the Rat Hippocampal Formation following Ibotenic Acid Lesion of the Septal Region: A Quantitative [14C]Deoxyglucose and Acetylcholinesterase Study

1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1007-1021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg-Bernhard Schulz ◽  
Andreas Wree ◽  
Axel Schleicher ◽  
Karl Zilles
Keyword(s):  
Hippocampal Formation ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Ibotenic Acid ◽  
Staining Intensity ◽  
Medial Septum ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Diagonal Band ◽  
Computerized Image Processing ◽  
Univariate Statistics ◽  
Bilateral Lesions

The local cerebral glucose utilization was measured in the hippocampal formation 3, 21, and 90 days after bilateral lesions of the medial septal nucleus and the nucleus of the diagonal band of Broca by multiple ibotenic acid injections. The CMRglc was determined in hippocampal areas and layers and various limbic and visual regions by quantitative [14C]2-deoxyglucose autoradiography using a computerized image-processing system. Three days after lesion, CMRglc was significantly decreased in 26 of the 38 structures examined. The most pronounced reductions were found in CA2 and CA3, the subiculum, and the parasubiculum. The CMRglc values of the 21- and 90-day postlesion groups did not differ significantly from control data when univariate statistics were used. However, by means of a factor analysis and subsequently a discriminant analysis as a multivariate test for group differences, significant lesion-induced CMRglc changes could be detected between the control group, the 3-day group, and the 90-day group. The 21-day group did not differ significantly from the controls. The data indicate that 90 days after lesion of the medial septum/diagonal band complex (MSDB), a considerable recovery of the mean CMRglc was found in the hippocampal region, although a normal level was not reached. In a parallel series, processing of sections for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) histochemistry revealed a severe destruction of AChE-positive fibers in the hippocampus at 3 days after lesion and a conspicuous recovery in the amount of stain-able fibers and their staining intensity at 21 days postlesion. In the 90-day group, the AChE fibers recovered even further but did not reach the values of unlesioned sham-operated controls. The present study indicates that sprouting of surviving cholinergic afferents might be an important morphological substrate for CMRglc recovery in the hippocampus after MSDB lesion.

Mating call differences between diploid and tetraploid green toads (Bufo viridis complex) in Middle Asia

1998 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Stöck
Keyword(s):  
Water Temperature ◽  
Pulse Duration ◽  
Interval Duration ◽  
Premating Isolation ◽  
Separate Species ◽  
Call Duration ◽  
Bufo Viridis ◽  
Fundamental Frequencies ◽  
Mating Call ◽  
Mating Calls

AbstractMating calls of diploid and tetraploid green toads (Bufo viridis complex) from Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan were investigated during the breeding periods in 1994 and 1995 across a range of temperatures from 9°C to 22°C. Interpulse interval duration, pulse duration and call duration were negatively correlated with water temperature. At any given temperature tetraploid toads exhibited longer pulses and interpulse intervals resulting in lower pulse rates than diploid toads. These differences reveal a potential premating isolation barrier and provide an additional argument to consider diploid and tetraploid green toads as separate species. Call duration did not differ significantly between diploid and tetraploid green toads. Fundamental frequencies lay in the same range in both diploid and tetraploid toads.

The role of the "encounter" call in spacing of Pacific tree frogs, Hyla regilla

1980 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl L. Whitney
Keyword(s):  
Hyla Regilla ◽  
Mating Call ◽  
Mating Calls ◽  
Tree Frogs

When calling male Pacific tree frogs come closer together than about 50 cm, they switch from the mating call to the encounter call. After an exchange of encounter calls, one of the frogs may submit by retreating or ceasing to call, or they may fight, after which the loser submits. To investigate the role of the encounter call in maintaining spacing, I compared the responses of calling males lo playback of encounter calls and mating calls. During 60-s playbacks, most frogs responded initially to both vocalizations by uttering encounter calls, but they were more likely to respond further to encounter calls by either attacking or submitting. I suggest that the encounter call serves to reduce the amount of time that calling frogs remain close together and, as a consequence, to enhance their chances of attracting females.

scholarly journals Framing Spatial Cognition: Neural Representations of Proximal and Distal Frames of Reference and Their Roles in Navigation

2011 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 1245-1279 ◽  
Author(s):  
James J. Knierim ◽  
Derek A. Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Coordinate System ◽  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Place Cells ◽  
Spatial Behavior ◽  
Spatial Learning And Memory ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Common View ◽  
Spatial Tasks ◽  
Spatial Specificity ◽  
Local Cues

The most common behavioral test of hippocampus-dependent, spatial learning and memory is the Morris water task, and the most commonly studied behavioral correlate of hippocampal neurons is the spatial specificity of place cells. Despite decades of intensive research, it is not completely understood how animals solve the water task and how place cells generate their spatially specific firing fields. Based on early work, it has become the accepted wisdom in the general neuroscience community that distal spatial cues are the primary sources of information used by animals to solve the water task (and similar spatial tasks) and by place cells to generate their spatial specificity. More recent research, along with earlier studies that were overshadowed by the emphasis on distal cues, put this common view into question by demonstrating primary influences of local cues and local boundaries on spatial behavior and place-cell firing. This paper first reviews the historical underpinnings of the “standard” view from a behavioral perspective, and then reviews newer results demonstrating that an animal's behavior in such spatial tasks is more strongly controlled by a local-apparatus frame of reference than by distal landmarks. The paper then reviews similar findings from the literature on the neurophysiological correlates of place cells and other spatially correlated cells from related brain areas. A model is proposed by which distal cues primarily set the orientation of the animal's internal spatial coordinate system, via the head direction cell system, whereas local cues and apparatus boundaries primarily set the translation and scale of that coordinate system.

Is there a dialect in Pelodytes punctatus from southern Portugal?

1992 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Paillette ◽  
M.E. Oliveira ◽  
E.G. Crespo ◽  
H.D. Rosa
Keyword(s):  
Pulse Rate ◽  
Mating Call ◽  
Rate Acceleration ◽  
Mating Calls ◽  
Southern Portugal

AbstractThe mating call of Pelodytes punctatus from Algarve (Southern Portugal) is composed of two multipulsed motives, "a" and "b", lasting about 200 ms. One "a" is followed by two, three or more "b"s giving a sucession of "a-b-b-...". The inner timing in pulse rate acceleration distinguishes each motive. We suggest that the Algarve population has its own dialect, which is different from those of Camargue and Liguria, whose mating calls are longer (about 300 and 400 ms) with a syntax of "a-b" pairs. Pulse rates and durations change with temperature.

scholarly journals Effect of temperature on life-history traits and mating calls of a field cricket, Acanthogryllus asiaticus

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richa Singh ◽  
P Prathibha ◽  
Manjari Jain
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Sexual Communication ◽  
Peak Frequency ◽  
Field Cricket ◽  
Effect Of Temperature ◽  
Developmental Temperature ◽  
Mating Call ◽  
Mating Calls

AbstractEctotherms are sensitive to the changes in ambient temperature with respect to their physiology and development. To compensate for the effects of variation in temperature, ectotherms exhibit physiological plasticity which can be for short or long term. An extensive body of literature exists towards understanding these effects and the solutions ectotherms have evolved. However, to what extent rearing temperature during early life stages impacts the behaviour expressed in adulthood is less clearly understood. In the present study, we aimed to examine the effect of developmental temperature on life-history traits and mating call features in a tropical field cricket, Acanthogryllus asiaticus. We raised A. asiaticus at two different developmental conditions: 25°C and 30°C. We found developmental time and adult lifespan of individuals reared at 30°C to be shorter than those at 25°C. Increased developmental temperature influenced various body size parameters differentially. Males raised at 30°C were found to be larger and heavier than those raised at 25°C, making A. asiaticus an exception to the temperature-size rule. We found a significant effect of the change in immediate ambient temperature on different call features of both field-caught and lab-bred individuals. In addition, developmental temperature also affected mating call features as individuals raised at higher temperature produced faster calls with a higher peak frequency compared to those raised at lower temperature. However, the interaction of both developmental and immediate temperature on mating calls showed differential effects. Our study highlights the importance of understanding how environmental temperature shapes life-history and sexual communication in crickets.

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