Abstract
This report describes the responses of single afferent fibers in the posterior lateral line nerve of the goldfish, Carassius auratus, to pure tone and to amplitude-modulated sinusoidal wave stimuli generated by a dipole source (stationary vibrating sphere). Responses were characterized in terms of output-input functions relating responses to vibration amplitude, peri-stimulus time histograms relating responses to stimulus duration, and the degree of phase-locking to both the carrier frequency and the modulation frequency of the amplitude-modulated stimulus. All posterior lateral line nerve fibers responded to a pure sine wave with sustained and strongly phase-locked discharges. When stimulated with amplitude-modulated sine waves, fibers responded with strong phase-locking to the carrier frequency and, in addition, discharge rates were modulated according to the amplitude modulation frequency. However, phase-locking to the amplitude modulation frequency was weaker than phase-locking to the carrier frequency. The data indicate that the discharges of primary lateral line afferents encode both the carrier frequency and the modulation frequency of an amplitude-modulated wave stimulus.
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Accepted: 2 June 1999
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mogdans, J., Bleckmann, H. Peripheral lateral line responses to amplitude-modulated sinusoidal wave stimuli. J Comp Physiol A 185, 173–180 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/s003590050375
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s003590050375