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The Neural Processing of Frequency Modulations in the Auditory System of Bats

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Bat Bioacoustics

Part of the book series: Springer Handbook of Auditory Research ((SHAR,volume 54))

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with the neural processing of communication calls emitted by bats. The focus is on the processing of frequency modulated (FM) sweeps in the inferior colliculus (IC), the midbrain auditory nucleus that receives the convergent projections from almost all lower auditory nuclei. The chapter has four themes. The first theme is the dominant role that inhibition plays in shaping the response preferences of IC neurons. The second theme is the heterogeneity of mechanisms that shape the response properties of IC neurons. There is not a single mechanism that the IC employs to form a given response property, but rather there are multiple ways in which the same response property is formed within the IC population. The third theme is the close correspondence between neural tuning for a particular FM feature and acoustic properties of conspecific communication signals. In bats at least, this correspondence suggests that IC neurons are specifically encoding features of these signals through the neural computations that generate FM selectivity. Moreover, the various selectivities expressed by IC neurons for communication calls are a consequence of the multiple ways in which their selectivities for features of acoustic signals, such as the preference for the direction of FM sweeps, are created. The fourth theme is the idea that the auditory system of bats is not distinguished by novel mechanisms, but rather that mechanisms and features that are present in the auditory systems of all mammals are more pronounced in bats than in other mammals.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to express my sincerest appreciation to the National Institutes of Health for their generous support of my research over the past 40 years. I also thank Carl Resler for his expertise with computers and his invaluable technical support throughout my career. Finally, I thank my graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and all of my colleagues who have been so supportive and have taught me so much. Supported by NIH Grant DC 0078.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience and Center for Perceptual Systems, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    George D. Pollak

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Correspondence to George D. Pollak .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, LONDON, Ontario, Canada

    M. Brock Fenton

  2. Dept of Physi, David Geffen School of Me, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Alan D Grinnell

  3. Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Arthur N. Popper

  4. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA

    Richard R. Fay

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Pollak, G.D. (2016). The Neural Processing of Frequency Modulations in the Auditory System of Bats. In: Fenton, M., Grinnell, A., Popper, A., Fay, R. (eds) Bat Bioacoustics. Springer Handbook of Auditory Research, vol 54. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3527-7_8

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