Unique Contributions from Comparative Auditory Research

Abstract

Choosing the appropriate animal model(s) is a key feature in many scientific studies. But how does one decide which animal is the “right” one to answer a specific question? This is the central aim of comparative research. The classic comparative approach involves studying animals with different but carefully chosen phylogenetic backgrounds and thereby deducing principles that are either basic, and thus shared by common descent, or specializations that are novel to a particular group. There is abundant evidence that comparative studies have made important contributions to hearing research. Prominent examples are the basic mechanisms of hair cell transduction, revealed largely in frog and turtle preparations, the neural processing of binaural cues for sound localization in the barn owl, or the neural processing of learned vocalizations examined in songbirds. The current volume is not centered on one coherent topic but aims instead to highlight particular recent contributions of comparative work. It is hoped to maintain and inspire an appreciation of comparative work, especially in the age of genetics when the question whether the species’ neuroethology is appropriate for the problem at hand is less and less frequently asked. A total of 12 chapters discuss current topics of hair cell transduction and amplification, evolution of hair-cell polarity, evolution and neuroethology of hearing and instructive auditory oddities, all studied in a broad phylogenetic variety of animal models, from insects to bats and whales.