Summary
In three grasshopper species the activity of one tympanal nerve and the synaptic activity of the auditory G neuron were recorded under the following conditions: (i) with an acoustic stimulus tested during rest, (ii) during stridulation alone, and (iii) with the acoustic stimulus during stridulation.
- (i):
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At rest a reliable response of the tympanal nerve and of the G neuron to the acoustic stimulus was obtained.
- (ii):
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Both the tympanal receptors and the G neuron were activated in the stridulatory rhythm of the species. The recordings gave no evidence of inhibition of the auditory pathway.
- (iii):
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During full amplitude stridulation the stimulus response of the tympanal nerve was extremely reduced. Thus the auditory response of the G neuron was lost in Chorthippus biguttulus. In Chorthippus mollis and Omocestus viridulus, only in those phases of the chirps where stridulation-induced receptor activity was at a minimum did the stimulus elicit a response of the tympanal nerve and of the G neuron.
Response modulations of auditory interneurons such as activation in the stridulatory rhythm, “switching off” and “auditory windows” are entirely due to peripheral phenomena. The biophysical effects of stridulation on the tympanal membrane and auditory receptors remain to be analysed.
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Hedwig, B. Modulation of auditory responsiveness in stridulating grasshoppers. J Comp Physiol A 167, 847–856 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00189773
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00189773