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Rutovskaya MV, Volodin IA, Naidenko SV, Erofeeva MN, Alekseeva GS, Zhuravleva PS, Volobueva KA, Kim MD, Volodina EV. Relationship between acoustic traits of protesting cries of domestic kittens (Felis catus) and their individual chances for survival. Behav Processes 2024; 216:105009. [PMID: 38395238 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2024.105009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 02/17/2024] [Accepted: 02/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Domestic cat (Felis catus) mothers may rely on offspring cries to allocate resources in use of individuals with greater chances for survival and sacrifice the weak ones in case of impossibility to raise the entire large litter. Potential victims of this maternal strategy can enhance their chances of survival, by producing vocalizations with traits mimicking those of higher-quality offspring. We compared acoustic traits of 4990 cries produced during blood sampling by 57 two-week-old captive feral kittens (28 males, 29 females); 47 of them survived to 90 days of age and 10 died by reasons not related to traumas or aggression. No relationship was found between acoustic parameters and kitten survival, however, positive relationship was found between survival and body weight. The cries had moderate cues to individuality and lacked cues to sex. Body weight correlated positively with fundamental frequency and negatively with call rate, duration, peak frequency and power quartiles. We discuss that dishonesty of acoustic traits of kitten quality could develop as adaptation for misleading a mother from allocation resources between the weaker and stronger individuals, thus enhancing individual chances for survival for the weaker littermates. Physical constraint, as body weight, may prevent extensive developing the deceptive vocal traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina V Rutovskaya
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology of Mammals, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospect, 33, Moscow 119071, Russia
| | - Ilya A Volodin
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vorobievy Gory, 1/12, Moscow 119234, Russia.
| | - Sergey V Naidenko
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology of Mammals, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospect, 33, Moscow 119071, Russia
| | - Mariya N Erofeeva
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology of Mammals, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospect, 33, Moscow 119071, Russia
| | - Galina S Alekseeva
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology of Mammals, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospect, 33, Moscow 119071, Russia
| | - Polina S Zhuravleva
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology of Mammals, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospect, 33, Moscow 119071, Russia
| | - Kseniya A Volobueva
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology of Mammals, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospect, 33, Moscow 119071, Russia
| | - Mariya D Kim
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology of Mammals, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospect, 33, Moscow 119071, Russia
| | - Elena V Volodina
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology of Mammals, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospect, 33, Moscow 119071, Russia
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Khandai K, Navarro-Martinez C, Smith B, Buonopane R, Byun SA, Patterson M. Determining Significant Correlation Between Pairs of Extant Characters in a Small Parsimony Framework. J Comput Biol 2022; 29:1132-1154. [PMID: 35723627 DOI: 10.1089/cmb.2022.0141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
When studying the evolutionary relationships among a set of species, the principle of parsimony states that a relationship involving the fewest number of evolutionary events is likely the correct one. Due to its simplicity, this principle was formalized in the context of computational evolutionary biology decades ago by, for example, Fitch and Sankoff. Because the parsimony framework does not require a model of evolution, unlike maximum likelihood or Bayesian approaches, it is often a good starting point when no reasonable estimate of such a model is available. In this work, we devise a method for determining if pairs of discrete characters are significantly correlated across all most parsimonious reconstructions, given a set of species on these characters, and an evolutionary tree. The first step of this method is to use Sankoff's algorithm to compute all most parsimonious assignments of ancestral states (of each character) to the internal nodes of the phylogeny. Correlation between a pair of evolutionary events (e.g., absent to present) for a pair of characters is then determined by the (co-) occurrence patterns between the sets of their respective ancestral assignments. The probability of obtaining a correlation this extreme (or more) under a null hypothesis where the events happen randomly on the evolutionary tree is then used to assess the significance of this correlation. We implement this method: parcours (PARsimonious CO-occURrenceS) and use it to identify significantly correlated evolution among vocalizations and morphological characters in the Felidae family.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaustubh Khandai
- Department of Computer Science, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | | | - Brendan Smith
- Department of Biology, Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA
| | - Rebecca Buonopane
- Department of Biology, Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA
| | - Soyong Ashley Byun
- Department of Biology, Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA
| | - Murray Patterson
- Department of Computer Science, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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Behavioral-psychological motivations encoded in the vocal repertoire of captive Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) cubs. BMC ZOOL 2022; 7:2. [PMID: 37170180 PMCID: PMC10127000 DOI: 10.1186/s40850-021-00102-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
The Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) is the largest and one of the most endangered cats in the world. In wild and captive cats, communication is mainly dependent on olfaction. However, vocal communication also plays a key role between mother and cubs during the breeding period. How cubs express their physiological and psychological needs to their mother and companions by using acoustic signals is little known and mainly hindered by the difficult process of data collection. Here, we quantitatively summarized the vocal repertoire and behavioral contexts of captive Amur tiger cubs. The aim of the present work was to investigate the behavioral motivations of cub calls by considering influential factors of age, sex, and rearing experiences.
Results
The 5335 high-quality calls from 65 tiger cubs were classified into nine call types (Ar-1, Ar-2, Er, eee, Chuff, Growl, Hiss, Haer, and Roar) produced in seven behavioral contexts. Except for Er, eight of the nine call types were context-specific, related to Play (Ar-2, eee, and Roar), Isolation (Ar-1), Offensive Context (Haer, Growl, and Hiss), and a friendly context (Chuff).
Conclusions
The results suggest that cubs are not quiet, but instead they express rich information by emitting various call types, which are probably crucial for survival in the wild. We herein provide the first detailed spectrogram classification to indicate vocal repertoires of calls and their coding with respect to behavioral contexts in Amur tiger cubs, and we pave the steps for revealing their social communication system, which can be applied for conservation of populations. These insights can help tiger managers or keepers to improve the rearing conditions by understanding the feline cubs’ inner status and needs by monitoring their vocal information expressions and exchanges.
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Hudson R, Szenczi P, Bánszegi O. Parental Behavior in Carnivores. ADVANCES IN NEUROBIOLOGY 2022; 27:55-78. [PMID: 36169812 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-97762-7_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The mammalian order Carnivora is generally defined as species that feed exclusively or to some degree by eating other animals. The Carnivora comprise around 280 species, divided into 16 families, 13 of which are terrestrial and 3 aquatic. Carnivores are spread across the entire planet, including the two polar regions and on land and sea. Consistent with such diverse ecologies, there is no typical pattern of parental care distinguishing carnivores from other mammals. Using examples from different taxonomic families, our aim is to illustrate the diversity of parental care in Carnivora. Major topics include parental care before and after birth of the young, paternal, and alloparental care and the process of weaning. Given the position of many carnivores at the apex of food chains, a greater understanding of their patterns of parental care as a vital part of reproductive biology is essential to conservation programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robyn Hudson
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
| | - Péter Szenczi
- CONACyT - Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Oxána Bánszegi
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
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Lattenkamp EZ, Linnenschmidt M, Mardus E, Vernes SC, Wiegrebe L, Schutte M. The vocal development of the pale spear-nosed bat is dependent on auditory feedback. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200253. [PMID: 34482731 PMCID: PMC8419572 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Human vocal development and speech learning require acoustic feedback, and humans who are born deaf do not acquire a normal adult speech capacity. Most other mammals display a largely innate vocal repertoire. Like humans, bats are thought to be one of the few taxa capable of vocal learning as they can acquire new vocalizations by modifying vocalizations according to auditory experiences. We investigated the effect of acoustic deafening on the vocal development of the pale spear-nosed bat. Three juvenile pale spear-nosed bats were deafened, and their vocal development was studied in comparison with an age-matched, hearing control group. The results show that during development the deafened bats increased their vocal activity, and their vocalizations were substantially altered, being much shorter, higher in pitch, and more aperiodic than the vocalizations of the control animals. The pale spear-nosed bat relies on auditory feedback for vocal development and, in the absence of auditory input, species-atypical vocalizations are acquired. This work serves as a basis for further research using the pale spear-nosed bat as a mammalian model for vocal learning, and contributes to comparative studies on hearing impairment across species. This article is part of the theme issue 'Vocal learning in animals and humans'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ella Z Lattenkamp
- Department Biology II, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Martinsried, Germany.,Neurogenetics of Vocal Communication Group, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Meike Linnenschmidt
- Department Biology II, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Eva Mardus
- Department Biology II, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Martinsried, Germany.,Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Sonja C Vernes
- Neurogenetics of Vocal Communication Group, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,School of Biology, St Andrews University, St Andrews, UK
| | - Lutz Wiegrebe
- Department Biology II, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Michael Schutte
- Department Biology II, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Martinsried, Germany.,Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Martinsried, Germany
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Vernes SC, Kriengwatana BP, Beeck VC, Fischer J, Tyack PL, ten Cate C, Janik VM. The multi-dimensional nature of vocal learning. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200236. [PMID: 34482723 PMCID: PMC8419582 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
How learning affects vocalizations is a key question in the study of animal communication and human language. Parallel efforts in birds and humans have taught us much about how vocal learning works on a behavioural and neurobiological level. Subsequent efforts have revealed a variety of cases among mammals in which experience also has a major influence on vocal repertoires. Janik and Slater (Anim. Behav.60, 1-11. (doi:10.1006/anbe.2000.1410)) introduced the distinction between vocal usage and production learning, providing a general framework to categorize how different types of learning influence vocalizations. This idea was built on by Petkov and Jarvis (Front. Evol. Neurosci.4, 12. (doi:10.3389/fnevo.2012.00012)) to emphasize a more continuous distribution between limited and more complex vocal production learners. Yet, with more studies providing empirical data, the limits of the initial frameworks become apparent. We build on these frameworks to refine the categorization of vocal learning in light of advances made since their publication and widespread agreement that vocal learning is not a binary trait. We propose a novel classification system, based on the definitions by Janik and Slater, that deconstructs vocal learning into key dimensions to aid in understanding the mechanisms involved in this complex behaviour. We consider how vocalizations can change without learning, and a usage learning framework that considers context specificity and timing. We identify dimensions of vocal production learning, including the copying of auditory models (convergence/divergence on model sounds, accuracy of copying), the degree of change (type and breadth of learning) and timing (when learning takes place, the length of time it takes and how long it is retained). We consider grey areas of classification and current mechanistic understanding of these behaviours. Our framework identifies research needs and will help to inform neurobiological and evolutionary studies endeavouring to uncover the multi-dimensional nature of vocal learning. This article is part of the theme issue 'Vocal learning in animals and humans'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonja C. Vernes
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
- Neurogenetics of Vocal Communication Group, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Veronika C. Beeck
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Julia Fischer
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Centre, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Primate Cognition, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Peter L. Tyack
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Carel ten Cate
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Tavernier C, Ahmed S, Houpt KA, Yeon SC. Feline vocal communication. J Vet Sci 2020; 21:e18. [PMID: 32017479 PMCID: PMC7000907 DOI: 10.4142/jvs.2020.21.e18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Revised: 12/06/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Cat vocalizes to communicate with another and express their internal states. The vocal repertoire of the cat is wide and up to 21 different vocalizations have been described in the literatures. But it is more than probable that the repertoire contains more types of vocalizations. An ethogram was created in this paper describing the actual known vocalisations of the domestic cat based on an auditory classification. However, the audiogram allows also a visual classification which can increase the accuracy of vocalization differentiation. The classification can be risky as it is sometimes unclear if different types of vocalizations are produced in different environments or if a unique type of vocalization is used with variation in the acoustic parameters. As an example, isolation calls produced by kittens differ depending on the context. The environment has an important impact on the vocal behaviour and thus feral cats and pet cats vocalize differently. Pet cats are thus able to create an efficient communication with humans thanks to the flexibility of vocalisation behaviours. This review allowed us to create a simple model of the cat vocal repertory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloé Tavernier
- Université de Rennes 1, Master Ethology "Comportement Animal et Humain", Rennes 35000, France
| | - Sohail Ahmed
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, Seoul Wildlife Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
| | - Katherine Albro Houpt
- Animal Behavior Clinic, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Seong Chan Yeon
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, Seoul Wildlife Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
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Konerding WS, Zimmermann E, Bleich E, Hedrich HJ, Scheumann M. The head turn paradigm to assess auditory laterality in cats: influence of ear position and repeated sound presentation. PeerJ 2017; 5:e3925. [PMID: 29085747 PMCID: PMC5659213 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2017] [Accepted: 09/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In most humans, speech is predominantly processed by the left hemisphere. This auditory laterality was formerly thought to be an exclusive human characteristic, but is now suggested to have pre-human origins. In studies on auditory laterality in nonhuman animals, the head turn paradigm has become very popular due to its non-invasive character. Although there are implications that the head turn direction indicates functional dominance of the contralateral hemisphere in processing a given sound, the validity of the paradigm is under debate. To validate the paradigm via comparison with imaging or electrophysiological methods, it is first necessary to establish turning biases at the individual level. Recently, the domestic cat, a common model in hearing research, has been found to show turning biases at the group level. To assess individual turning asymmetries in cats, we repeatedly presented kitten isolation calls and assessed whether differences in conveyed arousal changed the previously described left-wards lateralisation of conspecific vocalizations. Based on responses to 50 playback presentations (25 of high and 25 of low arousal), we calculated individual head turn indices. Based on the total data set, we found no consistent individual turning bias, irrespective of call category or sex of the receiver. Although the playback paradigm was chosen carefully to reduce any effects of lateralized loudness perception or changes in motivation due to habituation, individual head turn biases changed significantly in concordance with habituation to repeated playback-presentations and was predictable by small deflections in ear position prior to listening. When splitting the data set according to a decline in responsiveness after seven playback presentations, we revealed an initial left turning bias for most of our subjects (i.e., significant at the group level). We propose that this left turning bias is related to right hemisphere dominance in processes like vigilance behaviour or general arousal rather than on auditory processing, as such. Our findings suggest that both the experimental sequence and sound level differences, induced by asymmetric ear positions, strongly influence the outcome of the head turn paradigm and should be taken into account when evaluating auditory laterality at the behavioural level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wiebke S Konerding
- Institute of AudioNeuro Technology and Department of Experimental Otology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Elke Zimmermann
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany
| | - Eva Bleich
- Institute for Laboratory Animal Science and Central Animal Facility, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Hans-Jürgen Hedrich
- Institute for Laboratory Animal Science and Central Animal Facility, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Marina Scheumann
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany
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9
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Costa M, Lepore F, Guillemot JP. Spectral and temporal auditory processing in the superior colliculus of aged rats. Neurobiol Aging 2017; 57:64-74. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2017.05.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2017] [Revised: 05/04/2017] [Accepted: 05/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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10
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Conflict or consensus? Synchronous change in mother–young vocal communication across weaning in the cat. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.06.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Konerding WS, Zimmermann E, Bleich E, Hedrich HJ, Scheumann M. Female cats, but not males, adjust responsiveness to arousal in the voice of kittens. BMC Evol Biol 2016; 16:157. [PMID: 27514377 PMCID: PMC4982004 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-016-0718-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2016] [Accepted: 07/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The infant cry is the most important communicative tool to elicit adaptive parental behaviour. Sex-specific adaptation, linked to parental investment, may have evolutionary shaped the responsiveness to changes in the voice of the infant cries. The emotional content of infant cries may trigger distinctive responsiveness either based on their general arousing properties, being part of a general affect encoding rule, or based on affective perception, linked to parental investment, differing between species. To address this question, we performed playback experiments using infant isolation calls in a species without paternal care, the domestic cat. We used kitten calls recorded in isolation contexts inducing either Low arousal (i.e., isolation only) or High arousal (i.e., additional handling), leading to respective differences in escape response of the kittens. We predicted that only females respond differently to playbacks of Low versus High arousal kitten isolation calls, based on sex-differences in parental investment. RESULTS Findings showed sex-specific responsiveness of adult cats listening to kitten isolation calls of different arousal conditions, with only females responding faster towards calls of the High versus the Low arousal condition. Breeding experience of females did not affect the result. Furthermore, female responsiveness correlated with acoustic parameters related to spectral characteristics of the fundamental frequency (F0): Females responded faster to kitten calls with lower F0 at call onset, lower minimum F0 and a steeper slope of the F0. CONCLUSIONS Our study revealed sex-specific differences in the responsiveness to kitten isolation calls of different arousal conditions independent of female breeding experience. The findings indicated that features of F0 are important to convey the arousal state of an infant. Taken together, the results suggest that differences in parental investment evolutionary shaped responsiveness (auditory sensitivity/ motivation) to infant calls in a sex-specific manner in the domestic cat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wiebke S Konerding
- Institute of AudioNeuroTechnology and Department of Experimental Otology, ENT Clinics, Hannover Medical School, Stadtfelddamm 34, 30625, Hannover, Germany.,Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559, Hannover, Germany
| | - Elke Zimmermann
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559, Hannover, Germany
| | - Eva Bleich
- Institute for Laboratory Animal Science and Central Animal Facility, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Hans-Jürgen Hedrich
- Institute for Laboratory Animal Science and Central Animal Facility, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Marina Scheumann
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559, Hannover, Germany.
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12
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Luo J, Lingner A, Firzlaff U, Wiegrebe L. The Lombard effect emerges early in young bats: Implications for the development of audio-vocal integration. J Exp Biol 2016; 220:1032-1037. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.151050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2016] [Accepted: 12/20/2016] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Auditory feedback plays an important role in vocal learning and, more generally, in fine-tuning the acoustic features of communication signals. So far, only a few studies have assessed the developmental onset of auditory feedback. The Lombard effect, a well-studied audio-vocal phenomenon, refers to an increase in vocal loudness of a subject in response to an increase in background noise. Here, we studied the time course of the Lombard effect in developing bats, Phyllostomus discolor. We show that infant bats produced louder vocalizations in noise than in silence at an age of only two weeks. In contrast, the infant bats' morphology and vocalizations changed gradually until two months of age. Furthermore, we found that the Lombard magnitude, i.e. how much the bats increased their vocal loudness in noise relative to silence, correlated positively with the age of the infant bats. We conclude that the Lombard effect features an early developmental origin, indicating a fast maturation of the underlying neural circuits for audio-vocal feedback.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinhong Luo
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Acoustic and Functional Ecology Group, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
- Division of Neurobiology, Department Biology II, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Großhaderner Straße 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Andrea Lingner
- Division of Neurobiology, Department Biology II, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Großhaderner Straße 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Uwe Firzlaff
- Chair of Zoology, Technische Universität München, Liesel-Beckmann-Street 4, 85350 Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany
| | - Lutz Wiegrebe
- Division of Neurobiology, Department Biology II, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Großhaderner Straße 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
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13
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Vocal Learning and Auditory-Vocal Feedback. VERTEBRATE SOUND PRODUCTION AND ACOUSTIC COMMUNICATION 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-27721-9_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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14
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15
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Hubka P, Konerding W, Kral A. Auditory feedback modulates development of kitten vocalizations. Cell Tissue Res 2014; 361:279-94. [PMID: 25519045 PMCID: PMC4487352 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-014-2059-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2014] [Accepted: 11/06/2014] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Effects of hearing loss on vocal behavior are species-specific. To study the impact of auditory feedback on feline vocal behavior, vocalizations of normal-hearing, hearing-impaired (white) and congenitally deaf (white) cats were analyzed at around weaning age. Eleven animals were placed in a soundproof booth for 30 min at different ages, from the first to the beginning of the fourth postnatal month, every 2 weeks of life. In total, 13,874 vocalizations were analyzed using an automated procedure. Firstly, vocalizations were detected and segmented, with voiced and unvoiced vocalizations being differentiated. The voiced isolation calls (‘meow’) were further analyzed. These vocalizations showed developmental changes affecting several parameters in hearing controls, whereas the developmental sequence was delayed in congenitally deaf cats. In hearing-impaired and deaf animals, we observed differences both in vocal behavior (loudness and duration) and in the calls’ acoustic structure (fundamental frequency and higher harmonics). The fundamental frequency decreased with age in all groups, most likely due to maturation of the vocal apparatus. In deaf cats, however, other aspects of the acoustic structure of the vocalizations did not fully mature. The harmonic ratio (i.e., frequency of first harmonic divided by fundamental frequency) was higher and more variable in deaf cats than in the other study groups. Auditory feedback thus affects the acoustic structure of vocalizations and their ontogenetic development. The study suggests that both the vocal apparatus and its neuronal motor control are subject to maturational processes, whereas the latter is additionally dependent on auditory feedback in cats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Hubka
- Institute of AudioNeuroTechnology and Department of Experimental Otology, ENT Clinics, Cluster of Excellence ‘Hearing4all’, Hannover Medical School, Feodor-Lynen-Str. 35, 30175 Hannover, Germany
| | - Wiebke Konerding
- Institute of AudioNeuroTechnology and Department of Experimental Otology, ENT Clinics, Cluster of Excellence ‘Hearing4all’, Hannover Medical School, Feodor-Lynen-Str. 35, 30175 Hannover, Germany
| | - Andrej Kral
- Institute of AudioNeuroTechnology and Department of Experimental Otology, ENT Clinics, Cluster of Excellence ‘Hearing4all’, Hannover Medical School, Feodor-Lynen-Str. 35, 30175 Hannover, Germany
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX USA
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Carrasco A, Brown TA, Lomber SG. Spectral and Temporal Acoustic Features Modulate Response Irregularities within Primary Auditory Cortex Columns. PLoS One 2014; 9:e114550. [PMID: 25494365 PMCID: PMC4262427 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2014] [Accepted: 11/05/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Assemblies of vertically connected neurons in the cerebral cortex form information processing units (columns) that participate in the distribution and segregation of sensory signals. Despite well-accepted models of columnar architecture, functional mechanisms of inter-laminar communication remain poorly understood. Hence, the purpose of the present investigation was to examine the effects of sensory information features on columnar response properties. Using acute recording techniques, extracellular response activity was collected from the right hemisphere of eight mature cats (felis catus). Recordings were conducted with multichannel electrodes that permitted the simultaneous acquisition of neuronal activity within primary auditory cortex columns. Neuronal responses to simple (pure tones), complex (noise burst and frequency modulated sweeps), and ecologically relevant (con-specific vocalizations) acoustic signals were measured. Collectively, the present investigation demonstrates that despite consistencies in neuronal tuning (characteristic frequency), irregularities in discharge activity between neurons of individual A1 columns increase as a function of spectral (signal complexity) and temporal (duration) acoustic variations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andres Carrasco
- Cerebral Systems Laboratory, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Trecia A. Brown
- Cerebral Systems Laboratory, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Stephen G. Lomber
- Cerebral Systems Laboratory, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- National Centre for Audiology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- * E-mail:
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Arriaga G, Jarvis ED. Mouse vocal communication system: are ultrasounds learned or innate? BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2013; 124:96-116. [PMID: 23295209 PMCID: PMC3886250 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2012.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 131] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2012] [Revised: 10/05/2012] [Accepted: 10/08/2012] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Mouse ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) are often used as behavioral readouts of internal states, to measure effects of social and pharmacological manipulations, and for behavioral phenotyping of mouse models for neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. However, little is known about the neurobiological mechanisms of rodent USV production. Here we discuss the available data to assess whether male mouse song behavior and the supporting brain circuits resemble those of known vocal non-learning or vocal learning species. Recent neurobiology studies have demonstrated that the mouse USV brain system includes motor cortex and striatal regions, and that the vocal motor cortex sends a direct sparse projection to the brainstem vocal motor nucleus ambiguous, a projection previously thought be unique to humans among mammals. Recent behavioral studies have reported opposing conclusions on mouse vocal plasticity, including vocal ontogeny changes in USVs over early development that might not be explained by innate maturation processes, evidence for and against a role for auditory feedback in developing and maintaining normal mouse USVs, and evidence for and against limited vocal imitation of song pitch. To reconcile these findings, we suggest that the trait of vocal learning may not be dichotomous but encompass a broad spectrum of behavioral and neural traits we call the continuum hypothesis, and that mice possess some of the traits associated with a capacity for limited vocal learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gustavo Arriaga
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
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Scheumann M, Roser AE, Konerding W, Bleich E, Hedrich HJ, Zimmermann E. Vocal correlates of sender-identity and arousal in the isolation calls of domestic kitten (Felis silvestris catus). Front Zool 2012; 9:36. [PMID: 23259698 PMCID: PMC3551667 DOI: 10.1186/1742-9994-9-36] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2012] [Accepted: 12/07/2012] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED INTRODUCTION Human speech does not only communicate linguistic information but also paralinguistic features, e.g. information about the identity and the arousal state of the sender. Comparable morphological and physiological constraints on vocal production in mammals suggest the existence of commonalities encoding sender-identity and the arousal state of a sender across mammals. To explore this hypothesis and to investigate whether specific acoustic parameters encode for sender-identity while others encode for arousal, we studied infants of the domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus). Kittens are an excellent model for analysing vocal correlates of sender-identity and arousal. They strongly depend on the care of their mother. Thus, the acoustical conveyance of sender-identity and arousal may be important for their survival. RESULTS We recorded calls of 18 kittens in an experimentally-induced separation paradigm, where kittens were spatially separated from their mother and siblings. In the Low arousal condition, infants were just separated without any manipulation. In the High arousal condition infants were handled by the experimenter. Multi-parametric sound analyses revealed that kitten isolation calls are individually distinct and differ between the Low and High arousal conditions. Our results suggested that source- and filter-related parameters are important for encoding sender-identity, whereas time-, source- and tonality-related parameters are important for encoding arousal. CONCLUSION Comparable findings in other mammalian lineages provide evidence for commonalities in non-verbal cues encoding sender-identity and arousal across mammals comparable to paralinguistic cues in humans. This favours the establishment of general concepts for voice recognition and emotions in humans and animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Scheumann
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, Hannover D-30559, Germany
| | - Anna-Elisa Roser
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, Hannover D-30559, Germany
| | - Wiebke Konerding
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, Hannover D-30559, Germany
| | - Eva Bleich
- Institute for Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, Hannover D-30626, Germany
| | - Hans-Jürgen Hedrich
- Institute for Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, Hannover D-30626, Germany
| | - Elke Zimmermann
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, Hannover D-30559, Germany
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RIEDE TOBIAS, STOLLE-MALORNY ANTJE. THE VOCAL CHANGE OF A KITTEN WITH CRANIOCEREBELLAR TRAUMA—A CASE STUDY. BIOACOUSTICS 2012. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.1999.9753426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- TOBIAS RIEDE
- a Institut für Biologie (AG Tembrock), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin , Invalidenstrasse 43, 10115 , Berlin , Germany
| | - ANTJE STOLLE-MALORNY
- b Klinik und Poliklinik für Kleine Haustiere, Freie Universität Berlin , Oertzenweg 19b, 14163 , Berlin , Germany
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PETERS G. Dominant frequency of loud mew calls of felids (Mammalia: Carnivora) decreases during ontogenetic growth. Mamm Rev 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2907.2010.00169.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Gaub S, Groszer M, Fisher SE, Ehret G. The structure of innate vocalizations in Foxp2-deficient mouse pups. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2010; 9:390-401. [PMID: 20132318 PMCID: PMC2895353 DOI: 10.1111/j.1601-183x.2010.00570.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Heterozygous mutations of the human FOXP2 gene are implicated in a severe speech and language disorder. Aetiological mutations of murine Foxp2 yield abnormal synaptic plasticity and impaired motor-skill learning in mutant mice, while knockdown of the avian orthologue in songbirds interferes with auditory-guided vocal learning. Here, we investigate influences of two distinct Foxp2 point mutations on vocalizations of 4-day-old mouse pups (Mus musculus). The R552H missense mutation is identical to that causing speech and language deficits in a large well-studied human family, while the S321X nonsense mutation represents a null allele that does not produce Foxp2 protein. We ask whether vocalizations, based solely on innate mechanisms of production, are affected by these alternative Foxp2 mutations. Sound recordings were taken in two different situations: isolation and distress, eliciting a range of call types, including broadband vocalizations of varying noise content, ultrasonic whistles and clicks. Sound production rates and several acoustic parameters showed that, despite absence of functional Foxp2, homozygous mutants could vocalize all types of sounds in a normal temporal pattern, but only at comparably low intensities. We suggest that altered vocal output of these homozygotes may be secondary to developmental delays and somatic weakness. Heterozygous mutants did not differ from wild-types in any of the measures that we studied (R552H ) or in only a few (S321X ), which were in the range of differences routinely observed for different mouse strains. Thus, Foxp2 is not essential for the innate production of emotional vocalizations with largely normal acoustic properties by mouse pups.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Gaub
- Institute of Neurobiology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
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Gourévitch B, Eggermont JJ. Spatial representation of neural responses to natural and altered conspecific vocalizations in cat auditory cortex. J Neurophysiol 2006; 97:144-58. [PMID: 17021022 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00807.2006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
This study shows the neural representation of cat vocalizations, natural and altered with respect to carrier and envelope, as well as time-reversed, in four different areas of the auditory cortex. Multiunit activity recorded in primary auditory cortex (AI) of anesthetized cats mainly occurred at onsets (<200-ms latency) and at subsequent major peaks of the vocalization envelope and was significantly inhibited during the stationary course of the stimuli. The first 200 ms of processing appears crucial for discrimination of a vocalization in AI. The dorsal and ventral parts of AI appear to have different roles in coding vocalizations. The dorsal part potentially discriminated carrier-altered meows, whereas the ventral part showed differences primarily in its response to natural and time-reversed meows. In the posterior auditory field, the different temporal response types of neurons, as determined by their poststimulus time histograms, showed discrimination for carrier alterations in the meow. Sustained firing neurons in the posterior ectosylvian gyrus (EP) could discriminate, among others, by neural synchrony, temporal envelope alterations of the meow, and time reversion thereof. These findings suggest an important role of EP in the detection of information conveyed by the alterations of vocalizations. Discrimination of the neural responses to different alterations of vocalizations could be based on either firing rate, type of temporal response, or neural synchrony, suggesting that all these are likely simultaneously used in processing of natural and altered conspecific vocalizations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boris Gourévitch
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, 2500 University Drive NW, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4
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23
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Hage SR, Jürgens U, Ehret G. Audio-vocal interaction in the pontine brainstem during self-initiated vocalization in the squirrel monkey. Eur J Neurosci 2006; 23:3297-308. [PMID: 16820019 DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2006.04835.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The adjustment of the voice by auditory input happens at several brain levels. The caudal pontine brainstem, though rarely investigated, is one candidate area for such audio-vocal integration. We recorded neuronal activity in this area in awake, behaving squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) during vocal communication, using telemetric single-unit recording techniques. We found audio-vocal neurons at locations not described before, namely in the periolivary region of the superior olivary complex and the adjacent pontine reticular formation. They showed various responses to external sounds (noise bursts) and activity increases (excitation) or decreases (inhibition) to self-produced vocalizations, starting prior to vocal onset and continuing through vocalizations. In most of them, the responses to noise bursts and self-produced vocalizations were similar, with the only difference that neuronal activity started prior to vocal onset. About one-third responded phasically to noise bursts, independent of whether they increased or decreased their activity to vocalization. The activity of most audio-vocal neurons correlated with basic acoustic features of the vocalization, such as call duration and/or syllable structure. Auditory neurons near audio-vocal neurons showed significantly more frequent phasic response patterns than those in areas without audio-vocal activity. Based on these findings, we propose that audio-vocal neurons showing similar activity to external acoustical stimuli and vocalization play a role in olivocochlear regulation. Specifically, audio-vocal neurons with a phasic response to external auditory stimuli are candidates for the mediation of basal audio-vocal reflexes such as the Lombard reflex. Thus, our findings suggest that complex audio-vocal integration mechanisms exist in the ventrolateral pontine brainstem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steffen R Hage
- Department of Neurobiology, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany.
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Hernández O, Espinosa N, Pérez-González D, Malmierca MS. The inferior colliculus of the rat: A quantitative analysis of monaural frequency response areas. Neuroscience 2005; 132:203-17. [PMID: 15780479 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2005.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/06/2005] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Frequency response areas (FRAs) were measured for 237 single units in the inferior colliculus (IC) of urethane-anesthetized pigmented rats using monaural pure-tone stimulation. Based on qualitative criteria [J Neurosci 21 (2001) 7303], FRAs were classified as V-shaped in 69% of neurons, non-V-shaped in 29%, and unclassifiable in the remaining 2%. Non-V-shaped FRAs were heterogeneous, comprising a number of subtypes including narrow, closed, low- and high-tilt, multipeaked, U-shaped, mosaic and inhibitory. To complement this subjective classification, we applied quantitative measures used by others (e.g. [J Neurophysiol 84 (2000) 1012]), including the inverse slope of the upper and lower FRA borders, Q-values, and other measures of bandwidth. The results suggest that FRAs in the rat IC are best described as forming a continuous distribution among subtypes, rather than clustering into discrete categories. Moreover, there is a broad range of frequency tuning characteristics and FRA types across the entire frequency spectrum. Within this general pattern, however, there are some frequency-specific differences in FRA type distribution. The relative proportion of V-shaped FRAs was greatest at the high and low ends of the auditory range, with the highest proportion of non-V-shaped FRAs in the mid-range from 6 to 12 kHz. For most neurons with multipeaked FRAs, the peak frequencies were not harmonically related. Frequency tuning in the pigmented rat IC is generally similar to that in other species. Comparison of Q values across auditory nuclei shows little evidence that FRAs are sharpened at levels above the auditory nerve. Rather, there is a broad range of frequency tuning properties at each level.
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Affiliation(s)
- O Hernández
- Auditory Neurophysiology Unit, Laboratory for the Neurobiology of Hearing, Institute of Neuroscience of Castilla y León and Faculty of Medicine, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
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Abstract
Hearing one's own voice is essential for the production of correct vocalization patterns in many birds and mammals, including humans. Bats, for instance, adjust temporal, spectral, and intensity parameters of their echolocation calls by precisely monitoring the characteristics of the returning echo signals. However, neuronal substrates and mechanisms for auditory feedback control of vocalizations are still mostly unknown in any vertebrate. We used echolocating horseshoe bats to investigate the role of the midbrain and hindbrain tegmentum for the control of call frequencies in response to changing auditory feedback. These bats accurately control the frequency of their echolocation calls through auditory feedback both when the bat is at rest [resting frequency (RF)] and when it is flying and compensating for changes in echo frequency caused by flight-induced Doppler shifts [Doppler shift compensation (DSC)]. We iontophoretically injected various GABAergic and glutamatergic transmitter agonists and antagonists into the brainstem tegmentum. We found that within the parabrachial nuclei and the immediately adjacent tegmentum, excitatory effects caused by application of the glutamate agonist AMPA or the GABA(A) antagonist bicuculline raised RF and the frequency of calls emitted during DSC. Bicuculline application routinely blocked DSC altogether. Alternately, inhibitory effects caused by application of either the GABA(A) agonist muscimol or the AMPA antagonist CNQX lowered call frequencies emitted at rest and during DSC. Such an audio-vocal feedback mechanism might share basic aspects with audio-vocal feedback controlling the pitch of vocalizations in other mammals, including the involuntary response to "pitch-shifted feedback" in humans.
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Gehr DD, Komiya H, Eggermont JJ. Neuronal responses in cat primary auditory cortex to natural and altered species-specific calls. Hear Res 2000; 150:27-42. [PMID: 11077191 DOI: 10.1016/s0378-5955(00)00170-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
We investigated how natural and morphed cat vocalizations are represented in primary auditory cortex (AI). About 40% of the neurons showed time-locked responses to major peaks in the vocalization envelope, 60% only responded at the onset. Simultaneously recorded multi-unit (MU) activity of these peak-tracking neurons on separate electrodes was significantly more synchronous during stimulation than under silence. Thus, the representation of the vocalizations is likely synchronously distributed across the cortex. The sum of the responses to the low and high frequency part of the meow, with the boundary at 2.5 kHz, was larger than the neuronal response to the natural meow itself, suggesting that strong lateral inhibition is shaping the response to the natural meow. In this sense, the neurons are combination-sensitive. The frequency-tuning properties and the response to amplitude-modulated tones of the MU recordings can explain the responses to natural, and temporally and spectrally altered vocalizations. Analysis of the mutual information in the firing rate suggests that the activity of at least 95 recording sites in AI would be needed to reliably distinguish between the nine different vocalizations. This suggests that a distributed representation based on temporal stimulus aspects may be more efficient than one based on firing rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- D D Gehr
- Neuroscience Research Group, Departments of Physiology and Biophysics, and Psychology, University of Calgary, T2N 1N4, Calgary, Alta., Canada
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Arch-Tirado E, McCowan B, Saltijeral-Oaxaca J, Zarco de Coronado I, Licona-Bonilla J. Development of isolation-induced vocal behavior in normal-hearing and deafened guinea pig infants. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2000; 43:432-440. [PMID: 10757694 DOI: 10.1044/jslhr.4302.432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Infants in many different animal species require auditory information from conspecifics to learn appropriate responses to important environmental and social cues. Isolation calls are emitted by infant guinea pigs in contexts of social separation from their mothers. The aim of the present study was to examine the ontogeny of the isolation calls in normal-hearing and deafened infant guinea pigs, from 2 to 40 days postpartum and to determine the role of hearing maternal vocalization in infant guinea pig vocal responses in contexts of social proximity and isolation. Female newborn pigmented guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) were housed with their birth mother and siblings. Water and dry food were available ad libitum. One day postpartum, the cochlea of infants in the experimental group was destroyed. The control group consisted of normal-hearing female siblings. Vocalizations from infants in the experimental and control groups were recorded for 6 minutes when with the mother before isolation, 6 minutes when alone, and then 6 minutes when with the mother after reunion. Recordings were made 5 days per week from 2 to 40 days after birth. The duration of calling was calculated for each 6-minute period of recording. Results demonstrated that deaf infants vocalize more than normal-hearing infants during social isolation from their mothers. Vocal activity of isolated deaf and normal-hearing infants decreased substantially over development, almost disappearing by the end of the study period. These results indicate that maternal vocal behavior modulates the vocal responses of guinea pigs early in infant development and supports other evidence that the guinea pig offers a viable model for investigating audition in deaf and normal-hearing human infants.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Arch-Tirado
- Instituto Nacional de la Comunicación Humana, México City, México.
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Heaton JT, Dooling RJ, Farabaugh SM. Effects of deafening on the calls and warble song of adult budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus). THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 1999; 105:2010-2019. [PMID: 10089618 DOI: 10.1121/1.426734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Budgerigars are small Australian parrots that learn new vocalizations throughout adulthood. Earlier work has shown that an external acoustic model and auditory feedback are necessary for the development of normal contact calls in this species. Here, the role of auditory feedback in the maintenance of species-typical contact calls and warble song in adult budgerigars is documented. Deafened adult birds (five male, one female) vocalized less frequently and showed both suprasegmental and segmental changes in their contact calls and warble song. Contact calls of all adult-deafened budgerigars showed abnormalities in acoustic structure within days to a few weeks following surgery. Within 6 months of surgery, nearly all contact calls produced by deafened birds were strikingly abnormal, showing highly variable patterns of frequency modulation and duration. The warble song of deafened male budgerigars also differed significantly from that of normal budgerigars on several acoustic measures. These results show that auditory feedback is necessary for the maintenance of a normal, species-typical vocal repertoire in budgerigars.
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Affiliation(s)
- J T Heaton
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park 20742-4411, USA
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Abstract
During the early development of the bird and the mammalian peripheral auditory system, a restricted range of low--mid frequencies is recorded in immature animals. These early recordings are correlated to the base or mid-basal region of the cochlea which codes high frequencies in the adult. In order to reconcile the functional observations with anatomical ones, two main hypotheses have been put forward: one called the development of the place principle derived from observations of acoustic trauma in chick cochlea and a second derived from auditory nerve fiber recordings in kittens. Whatever the theories, the tonotopic shift during development is a well-established phenomenon in both birds and mammals that could be explained by a synthetic theory including active and passive cochlear processes. The tonotopic shift observed in the central auditory system mimics quite closely the frequency representation of the peripheral auditory system. The same trend is observed in all auditory nuclei including the cortex, except that the frequency representation is more complex because it shows tonotopic maps that can be twisted in three dimensions. From current observations, there is a simultaneous onset of tonotopic maps across auditory nuclei up to the cortex. A hypothesis is presented related to the frequency changes observed in the cochlea that affect the central auditory pathway, along with possible consequences on auditory behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Romand
- Laboratorie de Neurobiologie, Université Blaise Pascal-Clermont II, Aubière, France
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Jones G, Ransome RD. Echolocation calls of bats are influenced by maternal effects and change over a lifetime. Proc Biol Sci 1993; 252:125-8. [PMID: 8391702 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.1993.0055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The greater horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, is a model species in echolocation studies, and emits calls containing long constant-frequency (CF) components. The bats have auditory systems tuned sharply to frequencies close to the resting CF (RF) values. Call frequency and neural processing are both flexible within individual bats which use this mode of echolocation. The simple structure of the calls makes them ideal for sonographic analysis. Here, in a large-scale and long-term analysis of changes in the vocalizations of bats we show that: (i) the calls of R. ferrumequinum aged 1-28 years vary seasonally and over a lifetime in a predictable manner; and (ii) an infant's RF is at least partly determined by the RF of its mother. We consider the relative importance of genetic and learning factors upon the correlation between RFS of mothers and offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Jones
- Department of Zoology, University of Bristol, U.K
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Rübsamen R, Schäfer M. Audiovocal interactions during development? Vocalisation in deafened young horseshoe bats vs. audition in vocalisation-impaired bats. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 1990; 167:771-84. [PMID: 2086791 DOI: 10.1007/bf00189767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus rouxi) were deafened in their 3rd-5th postnatal week. Subsequently their vocalisations were monitored to evaluate the impact of audition on the development of echolocation pulses. Hearing impairment affected the echolocation pulses as follows: the frequency of the constant frequency (CF) component was altered by between +4 kHz and -14 kHz, and the dominance of the second harmonic of the pulses was neutralised by a relative increase in intensity of the first and third harmonics. A second experiment focused on possible influences of acoustical self-stimulation with echolocation pulses on the establishment of auditory fovea representation in the inferior colliculus (IC). Frequency control of echolocation pulses was disrupted by larynx denervation. Thereafter, the bats produced multiharmonic echolocation signals (4-11 harmonics) varying in frequency. IC tonotopy, however, as monitored by stereotaxic electrophysiology, showed the same developmental dynamics as seen in control specimens (Fig. 10). Both experiments indicate that throughout postnatal development echolocation pulses are under auditory feedback control, whereas maturation of the auditory fovea and shifts in its frequency tuning represent an innate process. The significance of this postnatal development might be the adjustment of the vocal motor system of each bat to the frequency of its 'personal' auditory fovea.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Rübsamen
- Zoological Department, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka
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