1
|
Heffner RS, Koay G, Heffner HE, Mason MJ. Hearing in African pygmy hedgehogs (Atelerix albiventris): audiogram, sound localization, and ear anatomy. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2022; 208:653-670. [PMID: 36282301 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-022-01579-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Revised: 08/21/2022] [Accepted: 09/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The behavioral audiogram and sound localization performance, together with the middle and inner ear anatomy, were examined in African pygmy hedgehogs Atelerix albiventris. Their auditory sensitivity at 60 dB SPL extended from 2 to 46 kHz, revealing a relatively narrow hearing range of 4.6 octaves, with a best sensitivity of 21 dB at 8 kHz. Their noise-localization acuity around the midline (minimum audible angle) was 14°, matching the mean of terrestrial mammals. The African pygmy hedgehog was not able to localize low-frequency pure tones or a 3-kHz amplitude-modulated tone when forced to rely on the interaural phase-difference cue, a trait shared by at least nine other mammals. The middle ear of Atelerix has a configuration including an ectotympanic which is not fused to the surrounding bones, a substantial pars flaccida, a synostosed malleo-ectotympanic articulation and a 'microtype' malleus. The hearing and sound localization of A. albiventris is compared to that of a broad range of other mammals. It is shown that a malleus morphology like that of Atelerix, including a stiff articulation with the ectotympanic, is a consistent feature of other mammals that do not hear frequencies below 400 Hz.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rickye S Heffner
- Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, 43606, USA.
| | - Gimseong Koay
- Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, 43606, USA
| | - Henry E Heffner
- Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, 43606, USA
| | - Matthew J Mason
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EG, UK
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Teshima Y, Yamada Y, Tsuchiya T, Heim O, Hiryu S. Analysis of echolocation behavior of bats in “echo space” using acoustic simulation. BMC Biol 2022; 20:59. [PMID: 35282831 PMCID: PMC8919609 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-022-01253-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Echolocating bats use echo information to perceive space, control their behavior, and adjust flight navigation strategies in various environments. However, the echolocation behavior of bats, including echo information, has not been thoroughly investigated as it is technically difficult to measure all the echoes that reach the bats during flight, even with the conventional telemetry microphones currently in use. Therefore, we attempted to reproduce the echoes received at the location of bats during flight by combining acoustic simulation and behavioral experiments with acoustic measurements. By using acoustic simulation, echoes can be reproduced as temporal waveforms (including diffracted waves and multiple reflections), and detailed echo analysis is possible even in complex obstacle environments. Results We visualized the spatiotemporal changes in the echo incidence points detected by bats during flight, which enabled us to investigate the “echo space” revealed through echolocation for the first time. We then hypothesized that by observing the differences in the “echo space” before and after spatial learning, the bats’ attentional position would change. To test this hypothesis, we examined how the distribution of visualized echoes concentrated at the obstacle edges after the bats became more familiar with their environment. The echo incidence points appeared near the edge even when the pulse direction was not toward the edge. Furthermore, it was found that the echo direction correlated with the turn rate of the bat’s flight path, revealing for the first time the relationship between the echo direction and the bat’s flight path. Conclusions We were able to clarify for the first time how echoes space affects echolocation behavior in bats by combining acoustic simulations and behavioral experiments. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12915-022-01253-y.
Collapse
|
3
|
López-González C, Ocampo-Ramírez C. External Ears in Chiroptera: Form-Function Relationships in an Ecological Context. ACTA CHIROPTEROLOGICA 2022. [DOI: 10.3161/15081109acc2021.23.2.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Celia López-González
- Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CIIDIR Unidad Durango, Calle Sigma 119, Fracc. 20 de Noviembre II, Durango, Dgo. 34220, Mexico
| | - César Ocampo-Ramírez
- Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CIIDIR Unidad Durango, Calle Sigma 119, Fracc. 20 de Noviembre II, Durango, Dgo. 34220, Mexico
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Papet L, Raymond M, Boyer N, Mathevon N, Grimault N. Crocodiles use both interaural level differences and interaural time differences to locate a sound source. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2020; 148:EL307. [PMID: 33138473 DOI: 10.1121/10.0001979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2020] [Accepted: 08/27/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
To explore how crocodilians locate a sound source, two Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) were trained to swim towards an acoustic target. Using filtered versions of synthesized stimuli, the respective roles of interaural level differences (ILDs) and interaural time differences (ITDs), which are the two main cues providing information on sound source position, were tested. This study shows that crocodiles rely on both ILDs and ITDs to locate the spatial direction of a sound source and that their performance is lower when one of the cues is lacking.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- L Papet
- Equipe Cognition Auditive et Psychoacoustique, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5292, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1028, Université Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | - M Raymond
- Equipe Cognition Auditive et Psychoacoustique, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5292, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1028, Université Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | - N Boyer
- Equipe Cognition Auditive et Psychoacoustique, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5292, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1028, Université Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | - N Mathevon
- Equipe Cognition Auditive et Psychoacoustique, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5292, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1028, Université Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | - N Grimault
- Equipe Cognition Auditive et Psychoacoustique, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5292, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1028, Université Lyon 1, Lyon, , , , ,
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
A Bioinspired Twin Inverted Multiscale Matched Filtering Method for Detecting an Underwater Moving Target in a Reverberant Environment. SENSORS 2019; 19:s19235305. [PMID: 31810240 PMCID: PMC6928992 DOI: 10.3390/s19235305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2019] [Revised: 11/21/2019] [Accepted: 11/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
To this day, biological sonar systems still have great performance advantages over artificial sonar systems, especially for detection in environments with clutter, strong reverberation, and a low signal to noise ratio (SNR). Therefore, mammal sonar systems, for instance, bats and toothed whales, have many characteristics worth learning from. This paper proposes a bioinspired twin inverted multiscale matched filtering method to detect underwater moving targets. This method can be mainly divided into three parts. Firstly, a hyperbolic frequency modulation (HFM) continuous wave (CW) multiharmonic detection signal was adopted after analyzing signals from bats and dolphins. This signal combines the advantages of CW and HFM signals and has excellent time measurement and speed measurement performance when detecting a moving target. Secondly, the twin inverted waveform was introduced to suppress strong linear reverberation and highlight moving targets. The pulse interval was determined by assessing the reverberation reduction time. Thirdly, when processing echoes, a multiscale matched filtering method was proposed to make use of multiharmonic information and improve detection performance. Finally, a channel pool experiment was carried out to test the performance of the proposed method. The experimental result demonstrates that the proposed method has better performance when detecting a moving target in a reverberant environment compared to the conventional matched filtering method. Related results can be applied to small underwater platforms or sensor network platforms for target detection and coastal defense applications.
Collapse
|
6
|
Ono M, Bishop DC, Oliver DL. Neuronal sensitivity to the interaural time difference of the sound envelope in the mouse inferior colliculus. Hear Res 2019; 385:107844. [PMID: 31759235 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2019.107844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2019] [Revised: 10/28/2019] [Accepted: 11/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
We examined the sensitivity of the neurons in the mouse inferior colliculus (IC) to the interaural time differences (ITD) conveyed in the sound envelope. Utilizing optogenetic methods, we compared the responses to the ITD in the envelope of identified glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons. More than half of both cell types were sensitive to the envelope ITD, and the ITD curves were aligned at their troughs. Within the physiological ITD range of mice (±50 μs), the ITD curves of both cell types had a higher firing rate when the contralateral envelope preceded the ipsilateral envelope. These results show that the circuitry to process ITD persists in the mouse despite its lack of low-frequency hearing. The sensitivity of IC neurons to ITD is most likely to be shaped by the binaural interaction of excitation and inhibition in the lateral superior olive.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Munenori Ono
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, USA, 06030-3401; Department of Physiology, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, 920-0293, Japan.
| | - Deborah C Bishop
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, USA, 06030-3401
| | - Douglas L Oliver
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, USA, 06030-3401
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Heffner RS, Koay G, Heffner HE. Bats are unusually insensitive to brief low-frequency tones. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2019; 205:583-594. [PMID: 31147738 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-019-01349-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2018] [Revised: 05/01/2019] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Bats use brief calls for echolocation, suggesting that they might be more sensitive to brief sounds than non-echolocating mammals. To investigate this possibility, absolute thresholds for brief tones were determined for four species of bats: The Common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) and the Greater spear-nosed bat (Phyllostomus hastatus), both of which use frequency-modulated calls, the Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus), an echolocator that uses tongue-clicks rather than laryngeal calls, and the Dog-faced fruit bat (Cynopterus brachyotis), a non-echolocating species. Norway rats and a human were tested for comparison using the same acoustic stimuli. Contrary to expectations, the echolocating bats were not superior to non-echolocating mammals in detecting brief tones in the frequency range of their echolocation calls. Instead, all four species of bats were remarkably less sensitive than non-bats to brief sounds of 10 kHz and below. This implies that temporal summation in the mammalian auditory system can show large species differences, and that the detection of brief sound is likely influenced by the selective pressures on each species as well as by the physical integration of energy in the auditory system. Such species differences in function are expected to be reflected in the physiology of their auditory systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rickye S Heffner
- Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, 43606, USA.
| | - Gimseong Koay
- Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, 43606, USA
| | - Henry E Heffner
- Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, 43606, USA
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
A fully autonomous terrestrial bat-like acoustic robot. PLoS Comput Biol 2018; 14:e1006406. [PMID: 30188901 PMCID: PMC6126821 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2018] [Accepted: 07/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Echolocating bats rely on active sound emission (echolocation) for mapping novel environments and navigating through them. Many theoretical frameworks have been suggested to explain how they do so, but few attempts have been made to build an actual robot that mimics their abilities. Here, we present the ‘Robat’—a fully autonomous bat-like terrestrial robot that relies on echolocation to move through a novel environment while mapping it solely based on sound. Using the echoes reflected from the environment, the Robat delineates the borders of objects it encounters, and classifies them using an artificial neural-network, thus creating a rich map of its environment. Unlike most previous attempts to apply sonar in robotics, we focus on a biological bat-like approach, which relies on a single emitter and two ears, and we apply a biological plausible signal processing approach to extract information about objects’ position and identity. Many animals are able of mapping a new environment even while moving through it for the first time. Bats can do this by emitting sound and extracting information from the echoes reflected from objects in their surroundings. In this study, we mimicked this ability by developing a robot that emits sound like a bat and analyzes the returning echoes to generate a map of space. Our Robat had an ultrasonic speaker mimicking the bat’s mouth and two ultrasonic microphones mimicking its ears. It moved autonomously through novel out-doors environments and mapped them using sound only. It was able to negotiate obstacles and move around them, to avoid dead-ends and even to recognize if the object in front of it is a plant or not. We show the great potential of using sound for future robotic applications.
Collapse
|
9
|
Heffner HE, Heffner RS. Comments on "Killer whale (Orcinus orca) behavioral audiograms" [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 141, 2387-2398 (2017)]. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2018; 143:500. [PMID: 29390732 DOI: 10.1121/1.5021771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Branstetter and his colleagues present the audiograms of eight killer whales and provide a comprehensive review of previous killer whale audiograms. In their paper, they say that the present authors have reported a relationship between size and high-frequency hearing but that echolocating cetaceans might be a special case. The purpose of these comments is to clarify that the relationship of a species' high-frequency hearing is not to its size (mass) but to its "functional interaural distance" (a measure of the availability of sound-localization cues). Moreover, it has previously been noted that echolocating animals, cetaceans as well as bats, have extended their high-frequency hearing somewhat beyond the frequencies used by comparable non-echolocators for passive localization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Henry E Heffner
- Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio 43606, USA
| | - Rickye S Heffner
- Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio 43606, USA
| |
Collapse
|