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Newell FN, McKenna E, Seveso MA, Devine I, Alahmad F, Hirst RJ, O'Dowd A. Multisensory perception constrains the formation of object categories: a review of evidence from sensory-driven and predictive processes on categorical decisions. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220342. [PMID: 37545304 PMCID: PMC10404931 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Although object categorization is a fundamental cognitive ability, it is also a complex process going beyond the perception and organization of sensory stimulation. Here we review existing evidence about how the human brain acquires and organizes multisensory inputs into object representations that may lead to conceptual knowledge in memory. We first focus on evidence for two processes on object perception, multisensory integration of redundant information (e.g. seeing and feeling a shape) and crossmodal, statistical learning of complementary information (e.g. the 'moo' sound of a cow and its visual shape). For both processes, the importance attributed to each sensory input in constructing a multisensory representation of an object depends on the working range of the specific sensory modality, the relative reliability or distinctiveness of the encoded information and top-down predictions. Moreover, apart from sensory-driven influences on perception, the acquisition of featural information across modalities can affect semantic memory and, in turn, influence category decisions. In sum, we argue that both multisensory processes independently constrain the formation of object categories across the lifespan, possibly through early and late integration mechanisms, respectively, to allow us to efficiently achieve the everyday, but remarkable, ability of recognizing objects. This article is part of the theme issue 'Decision and control processes in multisensory perception'.
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Affiliation(s)
- F. N. Newell
- School of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin D02 PN40, Ireland
| | - E. McKenna
- School of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin D02 PN40, Ireland
| | - M. A. Seveso
- School of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin D02 PN40, Ireland
| | - I. Devine
- School of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin D02 PN40, Ireland
| | - F. Alahmad
- School of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin D02 PN40, Ireland
| | - R. J. Hirst
- School of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin D02 PN40, Ireland
| | - A. O'Dowd
- School of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin D02 PN40, Ireland
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2
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Lawlor J, Wohlgemuth MJ, Moss CF, Kuchibhotla KV. Spatially clustered neurons encode vocalization categories in the bat midbrain. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.14.545029. [PMID: 37398454 PMCID: PMC10312733 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.14.545029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
Rapid categorization of vocalizations enables adaptive behavior across species. While categorical perception is thought to arise in the neocortex, humans and other animals could benefit from functional organization of ethologically-relevant sounds at earlier stages in the auditory hierarchy. Here, we developed two-photon calcium imaging in the awake echolocating bat (Eptesicus fuscus) to study encoding of sound meaning in the Inferior Colliculus, which is as few as two synapses from the inner ear. Echolocating bats produce and interpret frequency sweep-based vocalizations for social communication and navigation. Auditory playback experiments demonstrated that individual neurons responded selectively to social or navigation calls, enabling robust population-level decoding across categories. Strikingly, category-selective neurons formed spatial clusters, independent of tonotopy within the IC. These findings support a revised view of categorical processing in which specified channels for ethologically-relevant sounds are spatially segregated early in the auditory hierarchy, enabling rapid subcortical organization of call meaning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Lawlor
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
- Johns Hopkins Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Baltimore, MD, 21218, MD
| | | | - Cynthia F. Moss
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
- Johns Hopkins Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Baltimore, MD, 21218, MD
- The Solomon Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Kishore V. Kuchibhotla
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
- Johns Hopkins Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Baltimore, MD, 21218, MD
- The Solomon Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
- Lead contact
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3
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Osmanski MS, Wang X. Perceptual specializations for processing species-specific vocalizations in the common marmoset ( Callithrix jacchus). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2221756120. [PMID: 37276391 PMCID: PMC10268253 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2221756120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/07/2023] Open
Abstract
How humans and animals segregate sensory information into discrete, behaviorally meaningful categories is one of the hallmark questions in neuroscience. Much of the research around this topic in the auditory system has centered around human speech perception, in which categorical processes result in an enhanced sensitivity for acoustically meaningful differences and a reduced sensitivity for nonmeaningful distinctions. Much less is known about whether nonhuman primates process their species-specific vocalizations in a similar manner. We address this question in the common marmoset, a small arboreal New World primate with a rich vocal repertoire produced across a range of behavioral contexts. We first show that marmosets perceptually categorize their vocalizations in ways that correspond to previously defined call types for this species. Next, we show that marmosets are differentially sensitive to changes in particular acoustic features of their most common call types and that these sensitivity differences are matched to the population statistics of their vocalizations in ways that likely maximize category formation. Finally, we show that marmosets are less sensitive to changes in these acoustic features when within the natural range of variability of their calls, which possibly reflects perceptual specializations which maintain existing call categories. These findings suggest specializations for categorical vocal perception in a New World primate species and pave the way for future studies examining their underlying neural mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S. Osmanski
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Laboratory of Auditory Neurophysiology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD21205
| | - Xiaoqin Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Laboratory of Auditory Neurophysiology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD21205
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4
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Wagener L, Nieder A. Categorical representation of abstract spatial magnitudes in the executive telencephalon of crows. Curr Biol 2023; 33:2151-2162.e5. [PMID: 37137309 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.04.013] [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: 02/21/2022] [Revised: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The ability to group abstract continuous magnitudes into meaningful categories is cognitively demanding but key to intelligent behavior. To explore its neuronal mechanisms, we trained carrion crows to categorize lines of variable lengths into arbitrary "short" and "long" categories. Single-neuron activity in the nidopallium caudolaterale (NCL) of behaving crows reflected the learned length categories of visual stimuli. The length categories could be reliably decoded from neuronal population activity to predict the crows' conceptual decisions. NCL activity changed with learning when a crow was retrained with the same stimuli assigned to more categories with new boundaries ("short", "medium," and "long"). Categorical neuronal representations emerged dynamically so that sensory length information at the beginning of the trial was transformed into behaviorally relevant categorical representations shortly before the crows' decision making. Our data show malleable categorization capabilities for abstract spatial magnitudes mediated by the flexible networks of the crow NCL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lysann Wagener
- Animal Physiology Unit, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas Nieder
- Animal Physiology Unit, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
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Caves EM, Kelley LA. Proportional processing of a visual mate choice signal in the green swordtail, Xiphophorus hellerii. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:575-585. [PMID: 36786312 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Revised: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
Abstract
During mate choice, receivers often assess the magnitude (duration, size, etc.) of signals that vary along a continuum and reflect variation in signaller quality. It is generally assumed that receivers assess this variation linearly, meaning each difference in signalling trait between signallers results in a commensurate change in receiver response. However, increasing evidence shows receivers can respond to signals non-linearly, for example through Weber's Law of proportional processing, where discrimination between stimuli is based on proportional, rather than absolute, differences in magnitude. We quantified mate preferences of female green swordtail fish, Xiphophorus hellerii, for pairs of males differing in body size. Preferences for larger males were better predicted by the proportional difference between males (proportional processing) than the absolute difference (linear processing). This demonstration of proportional processing of a visual signal implies that receiver perception may be an important mechanism selecting against the evolution of ever-larger signalling traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor M Caves
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Laura A Kelley
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
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Zhang EQ, Shi ER, Barceló-Coblijn L. Categorical perception and language evolution: a comparative and neurological perspective. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1110730. [PMID: 37179894 PMCID: PMC10172646 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1110730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Qing Zhang
- School of Linguistic Sciences and Arts, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
- Center for Language Evolution Studies, University Centre of Excellence IMSErt, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland
- *Correspondence: Elizabeth Qing Zhang
| | - Edward Ruoyang Shi
- Department of Translation and Language Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Lluís Barceló-Coblijn
- Laboratori d'Investigació en Complexitat i de Lingüística Experimental, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
- Laboratori d'Investigació en Complexitat i de Lingüística Experimental, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Illes Balears, Palma, Spain
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Cillov A, Stumpner A. Local prothoracic auditory neurons in Ensifera. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:1087050. [PMID: 36620451 PMCID: PMC9822282 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.1087050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
A new method for individually staining insect neurons with metal ions was described in the late 60s, closely followed by the introduction of the first bright fluorescent dye, Lucifer Yellow, for the same purpose. These milestones enabled an unprecedented level of detail regarding the neuronal basis of sensory processes such as hearing. Due to their conspicuous auditory behavior, orthopterans rapidly established themselves as a popular model for studies on hearing (first identified auditory neuron: 1974; first local auditory interneuron: 1977). Although crickets (Ensifera, Gryllidae) surpassed grasshoppers (Caelifera) as the main model taxon, surprisingly few neuronal elements have been described in crickets. More auditory neurons are described for bush crickets (Ensifera, Tettigoniidae), but due to their great biodiversity, the described auditory neurons in bush crickets are scattered over distantly related groups, hence being confounded by potential differences in the neuronal pathways themselves. Our review will outline all local auditory elements described in ensiferans so far. We will focus on one bush cricket species, Ancistrura nigrovittata (Phaneropterinae), which has the so-far highest diversity of identified auditory interneurons within Ensifera. We will present one novel and three previously described local prothoracic auditory neuron classes, comparing their morphology and aspects of sensory processing. Finally, we will hypothesize about their functions and evolutionary connections between ensiferan insects.
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McMurray B. The myth of categorical perception. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 152:3819. [PMID: 36586868 PMCID: PMC9803395 DOI: 10.1121/10.0016614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Revised: 11/26/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Categorical perception (CP) is likely the single finding from speech perception with the biggest impact on cognitive science. However, within speech perception, it is widely known to be an artifact of task demands. CP is empirically defined as a relationship between phoneme identification and discrimination. As discrimination tasks do not appear to require categorization, this was thought to support the claim that listeners perceive speech solely in terms of linguistic categories. However, 50 years of work using discrimination tasks, priming, the visual world paradigm, and event related potentials has rejected the strongest forms of CP and provided little strong evidence for any form of it. This paper reviews the origins and impact of this scientific meme and the work challenging it. It discusses work showing that the encoding of auditory input is largely continuous, not categorical, and describes the modern theoretical synthesis in which listeners preserve fine-grained detail to enable more flexible processing. This synthesis is fundamentally inconsistent with CP. This leads to a different understanding of how to use and interpret the most basic paradigms in speech perception-phoneme identification along a continuum-and has implications for understanding language and hearing disorders, development, and multilingualism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bob McMurray
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA
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Baker CA, McKellar C, Pang R, Nern A, Dorkenwald S, Pacheco DA, Eckstein N, Funke J, Dickson BJ, Murthy M. Neural network organization for courtship-song feature detection in Drosophila. Curr Biol 2022; 32:3317-3333.e7. [PMID: 35793679 PMCID: PMC9378594 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Animals communicate using sounds in a wide range of contexts, and auditory systems must encode behaviorally relevant acoustic features to drive appropriate reactions. How feature detection emerges along auditory pathways has been difficult to solve due to challenges in mapping the underlying circuits and characterizing responses to behaviorally relevant features. Here, we study auditory activity in the Drosophila melanogaster brain and investigate feature selectivity for the two main modes of fly courtship song, sinusoids and pulse trains. We identify 24 new cell types of the intermediate layers of the auditory pathway, and using a new connectomic resource, FlyWire, we map all synaptic connections between these cell types, in addition to connections to known early and higher-order auditory neurons-this represents the first circuit-level map of the auditory pathway. We additionally determine the sign (excitatory or inhibitory) of most synapses in this auditory connectome. We find that auditory neurons display a continuum of preferences for courtship song modes and that neurons with different song-mode preferences and response timescales are highly interconnected in a network that lacks hierarchical structure. Nonetheless, we find that the response properties of individual cell types within the connectome are predictable from their inputs. Our study thus provides new insights into the organization of auditory coding within the Drosophila brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christa A Baker
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Claire McKellar
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA; Janelia Research Campus, HHMI, Ashburn, VA, USA
| | - Rich Pang
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | | | - Sven Dorkenwald
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA; Computer Science, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Diego A Pacheco
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Nils Eckstein
- Janelia Research Campus, HHMI, Ashburn, VA, USA; Institute of Neuroinformatics UZH/ETHZ, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jan Funke
- Janelia Research Campus, HHMI, Ashburn, VA, USA
| | | | - Mala Murthy
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
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10
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Woodrow C, Pulver C, Song H, Montealegre-Z F. Auditory mechanics in the grig ( Cyphoderris monstrosa): tympanal travelling waves and frequency discrimination as a precursor to inner ear tonotopy. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220398. [PMID: 35473380 PMCID: PMC9043732 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Ensiferan orthopterans offer a key study system for acoustic communication and the process of insect hearing. Cyphoderris monstrosa (Hagloidea) belongs to a relict ensiferan family and is often used for evolutionary comparisons between bushcrickets (Tettigoniidae) and their ancestors. Understanding how this species processes sound is therefore vital to reconstructing the evolutionary history of ensiferan hearing. Previous investigations have found a mismatch in the ear of this species, whereby neurophysiological and tympanal tuning does not match the conspecific communication frequency. However, the role of the whole tympanum in signal reception remains unknown. Using laser Doppler vibrometry, we show that the tympana are tonotopic, with higher frequencies being received more distally. The tympana use two key modalities to mechanically separate sounds into two auditory receptor populations. Frequencies below approximately 8 kHz generate a basic resonant mode in the proximal end of the tympanum, whereas frequencies above approximately 8 kHz generate travelling waves in the distal region. Micro-CT imaging of the ear and the presented data suggest that this tonotopy of the tympana drive the tonotopic mechanotransduction of the crista acustica (CA). This mechanism represents a functional intermediate between simple tuned tympana and the complex tonotopy of the bushcricket CA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlie Woodrow
- School of Life Sciences, Joseph Banks Laboratories, University of Lincoln, Green Lane, Lincoln LN6 7DL, UK
| | - Christian Pulver
- School of Life Sciences, Joseph Banks Laboratories, University of Lincoln, Green Lane, Lincoln LN6 7DL, UK
| | - Hojun Song
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, 2475 TAMU, 77843-2475 College Station, TX, USA
| | - Fernando Montealegre-Z
- School of Life Sciences, Joseph Banks Laboratories, University of Lincoln, Green Lane, Lincoln LN6 7DL, UK
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Rogers SM, Kostarakos K, Hedwig B. An auditory-responsive interneuron descending from the cricket brain: a new element in the auditory pathway. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2022; 208:571-589. [PMID: 36208310 PMCID: PMC9734236 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-022-01577-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Crickets receive auditory information from their environment via ears located on the front legs. Ascending interneurons forward auditory activity to the brain, which houses a pattern recognition network for phonotaxis to conspecific calling songs and which controls negative phonotaxis to high-frequency sound pulses. Descending brain neurons, however, which are clearly involved in controlling these behaviors, have not yet been identified. We describe a descending auditory-responsive brain neuron with an arborization pattern that coincides with the ring-like auditory neuropil in the brain formed by the axonal arborizations of ascending and local interneurons, indicating its close link to auditory processing. Spiking activity of this interneuron occurs with a short latency to calling song patterns and the neuron copies the sound pulse pattern. The neuron preferentially responds to short sound pulses, but its activity appears to be independent of the calling song pattern recognition process. It also receives a weaker synaptic input in response to high-frequency pulses, which may contribute to its short latency spiking responses. This interneuron could be a crucial part in the auditory-to-motor transformation of the nervous system and contribute to the motor control of cricket auditory behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen M. Rogers
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ
UK ,grid.36511.300000 0004 0420 4262Department of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool Campus, Lincoln, LN6 7TS UK
| | | | - Berthold Hedwig
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ
UK
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RUBubbles as a novel tool to study categorization learning. Behav Res Methods 2021; 54:1778-1793. [PMID: 34671917 PMCID: PMC9374653 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-021-01695-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Grouping objects into discrete categories affects how we perceive the world and represents a crucial element of cognition. Categorization is a widespread phenomenon that has been thoroughly studied. However, investigating categorization learning poses several requirements on the stimulus set in order to control which stimulus feature is used and to prevent mere stimulus-response associations or rote learning. Previous studies have used a wide variety of both naturalistic and artificial categories, the latter having several advantages such as better control and more direct manipulation of stimulus features. We developed a novel stimulus type to study categorization learning, which allows a high degree of customization at low computational costs and can thus be used to generate large stimulus sets very quickly. 'RUBubbles' are designed as visual artificial category stimuli that consist of an arbitrary number of colored spheres arranged in 3D space. They are generated using custom MATLAB code in which several stimulus parameters can be adjusted and controlled separately, such as number of spheres, position in 3D-space, sphere size, and color. Various algorithms for RUBubble generation can be combined with distinct behavioral training protocols to investigate different characteristics and strategies of categorization learning, such as prototype- vs. exemplar-based learning, different abstraction levels, or the categorization of a sensory continuum and category exceptions. All necessary MATLAB code is freely available as open-source code and can be customized or expanded depending on individual needs. RUBubble stimuli can be controlled purely programmatically or via a graphical user interface without MATLAB license or programming experience.
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Neurophysiology goes wild: from exploring sensory coding in sound proof rooms to natural environments. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2021; 207:303-319. [PMID: 33835199 PMCID: PMC8079291 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-021-01482-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2021] [Revised: 03/21/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
To perform adaptive behaviours, animals have to establish a representation of the physical "outside" world. How these representations are created by sensory systems is a central issue in sensory physiology. This review addresses the history of experimental approaches toward ideas about sensory coding, using the relatively simple auditory system of acoustic insects. I will discuss the empirical evidence in support of Barlow's "efficient coding hypothesis", which argues that the coding properties of neurons undergo specific adaptations that allow insects to detect biologically important acoustic stimuli. This hypothesis opposes the view that the sensory systems of receivers are biased as a result of their phylogeny, which finally determine whether a sound stimulus elicits a behavioural response. Acoustic signals are often transmitted over considerable distances in complex physical environments with high noise levels, resulting in degradation of the temporal pattern of stimuli, unpredictable attenuation, reduced signal-to-noise levels, and degradation of cues used for sound localisation. Thus, a more naturalistic view of sensory coding must be taken, since the signals as broadcast by signallers are rarely equivalent to the effective stimuli encoded by the sensory system of receivers. The consequences of the environmental conditions for sensory coding are discussed.
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Kudryavitskaya E, Marom E, Shani-Narkiss H, Pash D, Mizrahi A. Flexible categorization in the mouse olfactory bulb. Curr Biol 2021; 31:1616-1631.e4. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.01.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2020] [Revised: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Woodrow C, Judge KA, Pulver C, Jonsson T, Montealegre-Z F. The Ander's organ: a mechanism for anti-predator ultrasound in a relict orthopteran. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:jeb237289. [PMID: 33443038 PMCID: PMC7860129 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.237289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The use of acoustics in predator evasion is a widely reported phenomenon amongst invertebrate taxa, but the study of ultrasonic anti-predator acoustics is often limited to the prey of bats. Here, we describe the acoustic function and morphology of a unique stridulatory structure - the Ander's organ - in the relict orthopteran Cyphoderris monstrosa (Ensifera, Hagloidea). This species is one of just eight remaining members of the family Prophalangopsidae, a group with a fossil record of over 90 extinct species widespread during the Jurassic period. We reveal that the sound produced by this organ has the characteristics of a broadband ultrasonic anti-predator defence, with a peak frequency of 58±15.5 kHz and a bandwidth of 50 kHz (at 10 dB below peak). Evidence from sexual dimorphism, knowledge on hearing capabilities and assessment of local predators, suggests that the signal likely targets ground-dwelling predators. Additionally, we reveal a previously undescribed series of cavities underneath the organ that probably function as a mechanism for ultrasound amplification. Morphological structures homologous in both appearance and anatomical location to the Ander's organ are observed to varying degrees in 4 of the 7 other extant members of this family, with the remaining 3 yet to be assessed. Therefore, we suggest that such structures may either be more widely present in this ancient family than previously assumed, or have evolved to serve a key function in the long-term survival of these few species, allowing them to outlive their extinct counterparts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlie Woodrow
- University of Lincoln, School of Life Sciences, Joseph Banks Laboratories, Green Lane, Lincoln LN6 7DL, UK
| | - Kevin A Judge
- Department of Biological Sciences, MacEwan University, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5J 4S2
| | - Christian Pulver
- University of Lincoln, School of Life Sciences, Joseph Banks Laboratories, Green Lane, Lincoln LN6 7DL, UK
| | - Thorin Jonsson
- Department of Neurobiology & Behaviour, Institute of Biology, Karl-Franzens-University Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Fernando Montealegre-Z
- University of Lincoln, School of Life Sciences, Joseph Banks Laboratories, Green Lane, Lincoln LN6 7DL, UK
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16
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Parker AN, Wallis GM, Obergrussberger R, Siebeck UE. Categorical face perception in fish: How a fish brain warps reality to dissociate "same" from "different". J Comp Neurol 2020; 528:2919-2928. [PMID: 32406088 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2019] [Revised: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 04/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Categorical perception (CP) is the phenomenon by which a smoothly varying stimulus property undergoes a nonlinear transformation during processing in the brain. Consequently, the stimuli are perceived as belonging to distinct categories separated by a sharp boundary. Originally thought to be largely innate, the discovery of CP in tasks such as novel image discrimination has piqued the interest of cognitive scientists because it provides compelling evidence that learning can shape a category's perceptual boundaries. CP has been particularly closely studied in human face perception. In nonprimates, there is evidence for CP for sound and color discrimination, but not for image or face discrimination. Here, we investigate the potential for learned CP in a lower vertebrate, the damselfish Pomacentrus amboinensis. Specifically, we tested whether the ability of these fish to discriminate complex facial patterns tracked categorical rather than metric differences in the stimuli. We first trained the fish to discriminate sets of two facial patterns. Next, we morphed between these patterns and determined the just noticeable difference (JND) between a morph and original image. Finally, we tested for CP by analyzing the discrimination ability of the fish for pairs of JND stimuli along the spectrum of morphs between two original images. Discrimination performance was significant for the image pair straddling the boundary between categories, and chance for equivalent stimulus pairs on either side, thus producing the classic "category boundary" effect. Our results reveal how perception can be influenced in a top-down manner even in the absence of a visual cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amira N Parker
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Guy M Wallis
- School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Rainer Obergrussberger
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Ulrike E Siebeck
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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17
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18
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Green PA, Brandley NC, Nowicki S. The many dimensions of categorical perception: a response to comments on Green et al. Behav Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Patrick A Green
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
- Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Stephen Nowicki
- Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC, USA
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19
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Neuroethology of acoustic communication in field crickets - from signal generation to song recognition in an insect brain. Prog Neurobiol 2020; 194:101882. [PMID: 32673695 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2020.101882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Revised: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 07/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Field crickets are best known for the loud calling songs produced by males to attract conspecific females. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge of the neurobiological basis underlying the acoustic communication for mate finding in field crickets with emphasis on the recent research progress to understand the neuronal networks for motor pattern generation and auditory pattern recognition of the calling song in Gryllus bimaculatus. Strong scientific interest into the neural mechanisms underlying intraspecific communication has driven persistently advancing research efforts to study the male singing behaviour and female phonotaxis for mate finding in these insects. The growing neurobiological understanding also inspired many studies testing verifiable hypotheses in sensory ecology, bioacoustics and on the genetics and evolution of behaviour. Over last decades, acoustic communication in field crickets served as a very successful neuroethological model system. It has contributed significantly to the scientific process of establishing, reconsidering and refining fundamental concepts in behavioural neurosciences such as command neurons, central motor pattern generation, corollary discharge processing and pattern recognition by sensory feature detection, which are basic building blocks of our modern understanding on how nervous systems control and generate behaviour in all animals.
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20
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Römer H, Holderied M. Decision making in the face of a deadly predator: high-amplitude behavioural thresholds can be adaptive for rainforest crickets under high background noise levels. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190471. [PMID: 32420855 PMCID: PMC7331017 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Many insect families have evolved ears that are adapted to detect ultrasonic calls of bats. The acoustic sensory cues indicating the presence of a bat are then used to initiate bat avoidance behaviours. Background noise, in particular at ultrasonic frequencies, complicates these decisions, since a response to the background may result in costly false alarms. Here, we quantify bat avoidance responses of small rainforest crickets (Gryllidae, Trigoniinae), which live under conditions of high levels of ultrasonic background noise. Their bat avoidance behaviour exhibits markedly higher thresholds than most other studied eared insects. Their responses do not qualitatively differ at suprathreshold amplitudes up to sound pressure levels of 105 dB. Moreover, they also exhibit evasive responses to single, high-frequency events and do not require the repetitive sequence of ultrasonic calls typical for the search phase of bat echolocation calls. Analysis of bat and katydid sound amplitudes and peak frequencies in the crickets' rainforest habitat revealed that the cricket's behavioural threshold would successfully reject the katydid background noise. Using measurements of the crickets' echo target strength for bat predators, we calculated the detection distances for both predators and prey. Despite their high behavioural threshold, the cricket prey still has a significant detection advantage at frequencies between 20 and 40 kHz. The low-amplitude bat calls they ignore are no predation threat because even much louder calls would be detected before the bat would hear the cricket echo. This leaves ample time for evasive actions. Thus, a simple decision criterion based on a high-amplitude behavioural threshold can be adaptive under the high background noise levels in nocturnal rainforests, in avoiding false alarms and only missing detection for bat calls too far away to pose a risk. This article is part of the theme issue 'Signal detection theory in recognition systems: from evolving models to experimental tests'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heiner Römer
- Department of Biology, Graz University, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Marc Holderied
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
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21
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew C Mason
- Integrative Behaviour and Neuroscience Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
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22
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Caves EM, Nowicki S, Johnsen S. Von Uexküll Revisited: Addressing Human Biases in the Study of Animal Perception. Integr Comp Biol 2020; 59:1451-1462. [PMID: 31127268 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icz073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
More than 100 years ago, the biologist Jakob von Uexküll suggested that, because sensory systems are diverse, animals likely inhabit different sensory worlds (umwelten) than we do. Since von Uexküll, work across sensory modalities has confirmed that animals sometimes perceive sensory information that humans cannot, and it is now well-established that one must account for this fact when studying an animal's behavior. We are less adept, however, at recognizing cases in which non-human animals may not detect or perceive stimuli the same way we do, which is our focus here. In particular, we discuss three ways in which our own perception can result in misinformed hypotheses about the function of various stimuli. In particular, we may (1) make untested assumptions about how sensory information is perceived, based on how we perceive or measure it, (2) attribute undue significance to stimuli that we perceive as complex or striking, and (3) assume that animals divide the sensory world in the same way that we as scientists do. We discuss each of these biases and provide examples of cases where animals cannot perceive or are not attending to stimuli in the same way that we do, and how this may lead us to mistaken assumptions. Because what an animal perceives affects its behavior, we argue that these biases are especially important for researchers in sensory ecology, cognition, and animal behavior and communication to consider. We suggest that studying animal umwelten requires integrative approaches that combine knowledge of sensory physiology with behavioral assays.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Sönke Johnsen
- Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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23
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Kim H, Horigome M, Ishikawa Y, Li F, Lauritzen JS, Card G, Bock DD, Kamikouchi A. Wiring patterns from auditory sensory neurons to the escape and song-relay pathways in fruit flies. J Comp Neurol 2020; 528:2068-2098. [PMID: 32012264 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2019] [Revised: 01/21/2020] [Accepted: 01/22/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Many animals rely on acoustic cues to decide what action to take next. Unraveling the wiring patterns of the auditory neural pathways is prerequisite for understanding such information processing. Here, we reconstructed the first step of the auditory neural pathway in the fruit fly brain, from primary to secondary auditory neurons, at the resolution of transmission electron microscopy. By tracing axons of two major subgroups of auditory sensory neurons in fruit flies, low-frequency tuned Johnston's organ (JO)-B neurons and high-frequency tuned JO-A neurons, we observed extensive connections from JO-B neurons to the main second-order neurons in both the song-relay and escape pathways. In contrast, JO-A neurons connected strongly to a neuron in the escape pathway. Our findings suggest that heterogeneous JO neuronal populations could be recruited to modify escape behavior whereas only specific JO neurons contribute to courtship behavior. We also found that all JO neurons have postsynaptic sites at their axons. Presynaptic modulation at the output sites of JO neurons could affect information processing of the auditory neural pathway in flies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyunsoo Kim
- Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
| | - Mihoko Horigome
- Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
| | - Yuki Ishikawa
- Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
| | - Feng Li
- HHMI Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, Virginia
| | | | | | - Davi D Bock
- HHMI Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, Virginia
| | - Azusa Kamikouchi
- Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
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24
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Green PA, Brandley NC, Nowicki S. Categorical perception in animal communication and decision-making. Behav Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The information an animal gathers from its environment, including that associated with signals, often varies continuously. Animals may respond to this continuous variation in a physical stimulus as lying in discrete categories rather than along a continuum, a phenomenon known as categorical perception. Categorical perception was first described in the context of speech and thought to be uniquely associated with human language. Subsequent work has since discovered that categorical perception functions in communication and decision-making across animal taxa, behavioral contexts, and sensory modalities. We begin with an overview of how categorical perception functions in speech perception and, then, describe subsequent work illustrating its role in nonhuman animal communication and decision-making. We synthesize this work to suggest that categorical perception may be favored where there is a benefit to 1) setting consistent behavioral response rules in the face of variation and potential overlap in the physical structure of signals, 2) especially rapid decision-making, or 3) reducing the costs associated with processing and/or comparing signals. We conclude by suggesting other systems in which categorical perception may play a role as a next step toward understanding how this phenomenon may influence our thinking about the function and evolution of animal communication and decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick A Green
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
- Biology Department, Duke University, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Nicholas C Brandley
- Department of Biology, College of Wooster, Ruth W. Williams Hall, Wooster, OH, USA
| | - Stephen Nowicki
- Biology Department, Duke University, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC, USA
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25
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Benavides-Lopez JL, Ter Hofstede H, Robillard T. Novel system of communication in crickets originated at the same time as bat echolocation and includes male-male multimodal communication. Naturwissenschaften 2020; 107:9. [PMID: 31950367 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-020-1666-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2019] [Revised: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 01/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the evolutionary origins of communication signals requires careful study of multiple species within a known phylogenetic framework. Most cricket species produce low-frequency calls for mate attraction, whereas they startle to high-frequency sounds similar to bat echolocation. Male crickets in the tribe Lebinthini produce high-frequency calls, to which females reply with vibrational signals. This novel communication system likely evolved by male sensory exploitation of acoustic startle to high-frequency sounds in females. This behavior was previously described for the Lebinthini from Asia. Here we demonstrate that this novel communication system is found in a Neotropical species, Ponca hebardi, and is therefore likely shared by the whole tribe Lebinthini, dating the origin of this behavior to coincide with the origin of echolocation in bats. Furthermore, we document male duets involving both acoustic and vibratory signals not previously described in crickets, and we tentatively interpret it as competitive masking between males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose Luis Benavides-Lopez
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution et Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, 57 rue Cuvier, CP 50, 75231, Paris Cedex 05, France
| | - Hannah Ter Hofstede
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon, Panamá
| | - Tony Robillard
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution et Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, 57 rue Cuvier, CP 50, 75231, Paris Cedex 05, France.
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26
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Koepcke L, Hildebrandt KJ, Kretzberg J. Online Detection of Multiple Stimulus Changes Based on Single Neuron Interspike Intervals. Front Comput Neurosci 2019; 13:69. [PMID: 31632259 PMCID: PMC6779812 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2019.00069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2019] [Accepted: 09/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Nervous systems need to detect stimulus changes based on their neuronal responses without using any additional information on the number, times, and types of stimulus changes. Here, two relatively simple, biologically realistic change point detection methods are compared with two common analysis methods. The four methods are applied to intra- and extracellularly recorded responses of a single cricket interneuron (AN2) to acoustic simulation. Solely based on these recorded responses, the methods should detect an unknown number of different types of sound intensity in- and decreases shortly after their occurrences. For this task, the methods rely on calculating an adjusting interspike interval (ISI). Both simple methods try to separate responses to intensity in- or decreases from activity during constant stimulation. The Pure-ISI method performs this task based on the distribution of the ISI, while the ISI-Ratio method uses the ratio of actual and previous ISI. These methods are compared to the frequently used Moving-Average method, which calculates mean and standard deviation of the instantaneous spike rate in a moving interval. Additionally, a classification method provides the upper limit of the change point detection performance that can be expected for the cricket interneuron responses. The classification learns the statistical properties of the actual and previous ISI during stimulus changes and constant stimulation from a training data set. The main results are: (1) The Moving-Average method requires a stable activity in a long interval to estimate the previous activity, which was not always given in our data set. (2) The Pure-ISI method can reliably detect stimulus intensity increases when the neuron bursts, but it fails to identify intensity decreases. (3) The ISI-Ratio method detects stimulus in- and decreases well, if the spike train is not too noisy. (4) The classification method shows good performance for the detection of stimulus in- and decreases. But due to the statistical learning, this method tends to confuse responses to constant stimulation with responses triggered by a stimulus change. Our results suggest that stimulus change detection does not require computationally costly mechanisms. Simple nervous systems like the cricket's could effectively apply ISI-Ratios to solve this fundamental task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Koepcke
- Computational Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - K Jannis Hildebrandt
- Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4All", University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany.,Auditory Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Jutta Kretzberg
- Computational Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4All", University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
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27
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Lee N, Kirtley AT, Pressman IS, Jirik KJ, Koucoulas D, Mason AC. Developing a Phonotaxis Performance Index to Uncover Signal Selectivity in Walking Phonotaxis. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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28
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Xin Y, Zhong L, Zhang Y, Zhou T, Pan J, Xu NL. Sensory-to-Category Transformation via Dynamic Reorganization of Ensemble Structures in Mouse Auditory Cortex. Neuron 2019; 103:909-921.e6. [PMID: 31296412 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2018] [Revised: 03/08/2019] [Accepted: 06/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The ability to group physical stimuli into behaviorally relevant categories is fundamental to perception and cognition. Despite a large body of work on stimulus categorization at the behavioral and cognitive levels, little is known about the underlying mechanisms at the neuronal level. Here, combining mouse auditory psychophysical behavior and in vivo two-photon imaging from the auditory cortex, we investigate how sensory-to-category transformation is implemented by cortical neurons during a stimulus categorization task. Distinct from responses during passive listening, many neurons exhibited emergent selectivity to stimuli near the category boundary during task performance, reshaping local tuning maps; other neurons became more selective to category membership of stimuli. At the population level, local cortical ensembles robustly encode category information and predict trial-by-trial decisions during task performance. Our data uncover a task-dependent dynamic reorganization of cortical response patterns serving as a neural mechanism for sensory-to-category transformation during perceptual decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Xin
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Lin Zhong
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yuan Zhang
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Taotao Zhou
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Jingwei Pan
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Ning-Long Xu
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology, Shanghai 201210, China.
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29
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Zipple MN, Caves EM, Green PA, Peters S, Johnsen S, Nowicki S. Categorical colour perception occurs in both signalling and non-signalling colour ranges in a songbird. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20190524. [PMID: 31138066 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.0524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Although perception begins when a stimulus is transduced by a sensory neuron, numerous perceptual mechanisms can modify sensory information as it is processed by an animal's nervous system. One such mechanism is categorical perception, in which (1) continuously varying stimuli are labelled as belonging to a discrete number of categories and (2) there is enhanced discrimination between stimuli from different categories as compared with equally different stimuli from within the same category. We have shown previously that female zebra finches ( Taeniopygia guttata) categorically perceive colours along an orange-red continuum that aligns with the carotenoid-based coloration of male beaks, a trait that serves as an assessment signal in female mate choice. Here, we demonstrate that categorical perception occurs along a blue-green continuum as well, suggesting that categorical colour perception may be a general feature of zebra finch vision. Although we identified two categories in both the blue-green and the orange-red ranges, we also found that individuals could better differentiate colours from within the same category in the blue-green as compared with the orange-red range, indicative of less clear categorization in the blue-green range. We discuss reasons why categorical perception may vary across the visible spectrum, including the possibility that such differences are linked to the behavioural or ecological function of different colour ranges.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Susan Peters
- Biology Department, Duke University , Durham NC , USA
| | - Sönke Johnsen
- Biology Department, Duke University , Durham NC , USA
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30
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Opportunity for female choice in the wild is frequently curtailed by low male trait variation in Hyla versicolor. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2666-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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31
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Römer H. Insect acoustic communication: The role of transmission channel and the sensory system and brain of receivers. Funct Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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32
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Baker CA, Clemens J, Murthy M. Acoustic Pattern Recognition and Courtship Songs: Insights from Insects. Annu Rev Neurosci 2019; 42:129-147. [PMID: 30786225 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-080317-061839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Across the animal kingdom, social interactions rely on sound production and perception. From simple cricket chirps to more elaborate bird songs, animals go to great lengths to communicate information critical for reproduction and survival via acoustic signals. Insects produce a wide array of songs to attract a mate, and the intended receivers must differentiate these calls from competing sounds, analyze the quality of the sender from spectrotemporal signal properties, and then determine how to react. Insects use numerically simple nervous systems to analyze and respond to courtship songs, making them ideal model systems for uncovering the neural mechanisms underlying acoustic pattern recognition. We highlight here how the combination of behavioral studies and neural recordings in three groups of insects-crickets, grasshoppers, and fruit flies-reveals common strategies for extracting ethologically relevant information from acoustic patterns and how these findings might translate to other systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christa A Baker
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA;
| | - Jan Clemens
- University Medical Center Goettingen, Max-Planck-Society, European Neuroscience Institute, D-37077 Goettingen, Germany;
| | - Mala Murthy
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA;
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33
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Pike CD, Kriengwatana BP. Vocal tract constancy in birds and humans. Behav Processes 2018; 163:99-112. [PMID: 30145277 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2017] [Revised: 07/30/2018] [Accepted: 08/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Humans perceive speech as being relatively stable despite acoustic variation caused by vocal tract (VT) differences between speakers. Humans use perceptual 'vocal tract normalisation' (VTN) and other processes to achieve this stability. Similarity in vocal apparatus/acoustics between birds and humans means that birds might also experience VT variation. This has the potential to impede bird communication. No known studies have explicitly examined this, but a number of studies show perceptual stability or 'perceptual constancy' in birds similar to that seen in humans when dealing with VT variation. This review explores similarities between birds and humans and concludes that birds show sufficient evidence of perceptual constancy to warrant further research in this area. Future work should 1) quantify the multiple sources of variation in bird vocalisations, including, but not limited to VT variations, 2) determine whether vocalisations are perniciously disrupted by any of these and 3) investigate how birds reduce variation to maintain perceptual constancy and perceptual efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cleopatra Diana Pike
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary's Quad, South Street, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, UK.
| | - Buddhamas Pralle Kriengwatana
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary's Quad, South Street, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, UK
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34
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Categorical perception of colour signals in a songbird. Nature 2018; 560:365-367. [DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0377-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2017] [Accepted: 06/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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35
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Hanley D, Grim T, Igic B, Samaš P, López AV, Shawkey MD, Hauber ME. Egg discrimination along a gradient of natural variation in eggshell coloration. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2016.2592. [PMID: 28179521 PMCID: PMC5310612 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2016] [Accepted: 01/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Accurate recognition of salient cues is critical for adaptive responses, but the underlying sensory and cognitive processes are often poorly understood. For example, hosts of avian brood parasites have long been assumed to reject foreign eggs from their nests based on the total degree of dissimilarity in colour to their own eggs, regardless of the foreign eggs' colours. We tested hosts' responses to gradients of natural (blue-green to brown) and artificial (green to purple) egg colours, and demonstrate that hosts base rejection decisions on both the direction and degree of colour dissimilarity along the natural, but not artificial, gradient of egg colours. Hosts rejected brown eggs and accepted blue-green eggs along the natural egg colour gradient, irrespective of the total perceived dissimilarity from their own egg's colour. By contrast, their responses did not vary along the artificial colour gradient. Our results demonstrate that egg recognition is specifically tuned to the natural gradient of avian eggshell colour and suggest a novel decision rule. These results highlight the importance of considering sensory reception and decision rules when studying perception, and illustrate that our understanding of recognition processes benefits from examining natural variation in phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Hanley
- Department of Biology, Long Island University - Post, Brookville, NY 11548-1300, USA
| | - Tomáš Grim
- Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Palacký University, Olomouc 77146, Czech Republic
| | - Branislav Igic
- Department of Biology, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.,Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra 2601, Australia
| | - Peter Samaš
- Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Palacký University, Olomouc 77146, Czech Republic
| | - Analía V López
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, C1428EHA Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Matthew D Shawkey
- Department of Biology, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.,Department of Biology, Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures Group, Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium
| | - Mark E Hauber
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, NY 10065, USA.,Department of Animal Biology, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
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36
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Albert JT, Kozlov AS. Comparative Aspects of Hearing in Vertebrates and Insects with Antennal Ears. Curr Biol 2017; 26:R1050-R1061. [PMID: 27780047 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.09.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The evolution of hearing in terrestrial animals has resulted in remarkable adaptations enabling exquisitely sensitive sound detection by the ear and sophisticated sound analysis by the brain. In this review, we examine several such characteristics, using examples from insects and vertebrates. We focus on two strong and interdependent forces that have been shaping the auditory systems across taxa: the physical environment of auditory transducers on the small, subcellular scale, and the sensory-ecological environment within which hearing happens, on a larger, evolutionary scale. We briefly discuss acoustical feature selectivity and invariance in the central auditory system, highlighting a major difference between insects and vertebrates as well as a major similarity. Through such comparisons within a sensory ecological framework, we aim to emphasize general principles underlying acute sensitivity to airborne sounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joerg T Albert
- UCL Ear Institute, 332 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8EE, UK.
| | - Andrei S Kozlov
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
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37
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Schneider ES, Römer H, Robillard T, Schmidt AKD. Hearing with exceptionally thin tympana: Ear morphology and tympanal membrane vibrations in eneopterine crickets. Sci Rep 2017; 7:15266. [PMID: 29127426 PMCID: PMC5681576 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-15282-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2017] [Accepted: 10/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The receiver sensory system plays a crucial role in the evolution of new communication signals in insects. Among acoustic communicating crickets, the tribe Lebinthini (Eneopterinae) has evolved a unique communication system in that males produce exceptionally high-frequency calls and females respond with vibratory signals to guide males towards them. In this study, we describe nine species of Eneopterinae in which the sound receiving structures have undergone considerable morphological changes. We revealed that the anterior tympanal membrane (ATM) of the ear was extremely thin, as little as 0.35 µm thick, and to the best of our knowledge, this is the thinnest tympanal membrane found in crickets thus far. Measurements of tympanum vibrations obtained from Lebinthus bitaeniatus demonstrated a strong sensitivity towards higher frequencies. The finding also coincides with the neuronal tuning of ascending neurons and the behavioural response of the Lebinthini. The morphologically specialized ATM and its mechanical sensitivity for high frequencies, therefore, may have driven the sensory exploitation of an anti-predator behaviour that led to the evolution of a new communication system known for this group of crickets. The hypothetical phylogenetic origin of the investigated tympanal ears is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik S Schneider
- Department of Zoology, University of Graz, Universitaetsplatz 2, 8010, Graz, Austria
| | - Heinrich Römer
- Department of Zoology, University of Graz, Universitaetsplatz 2, 8010, Graz, Austria
| | - Tony Robillard
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution et Biodiversité, ISYEB - UMR 7205, CNRS MNHN UPMC EPHE, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, CP 50 (Entomologie), 75231, Paris, Cedex 05, France
| | - Arne K D Schmidt
- Department of Zoology, University of Graz, Universitaetsplatz 2, 8010, Graz, Austria.
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38
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Crickets alter wind-elicited escape strategies depending on acoustic context. Sci Rep 2017; 7:15158. [PMID: 29123249 PMCID: PMC5680309 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-15276-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2017] [Accepted: 10/24/2017] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Acoustic signals trigger various behaviours in insects such as courtship or escape from predators. However, it remains unknown whether insects utilize acoustic signals to recognize environmental contexts. The cricket is a prominent model insect for neuroethological studies on acoustic behaviour because female crickets exhibit positive phonotaxis in response to male calling songs, and flying crickets display avoidance behaviour for high-frequency sounds such as echolocation call of bats. The carrier frequency of these sounds is a major factor in determining whether they initiate these acoustic behaviours. Here, we examined the impacts of different frequencies of tone sounds on cercal-mediated escape behaviour, using a 5-kHz tone corresponding to the calling song and a 15-kHz tone serving as a trigger of avoidance behaviours. Neither frequency elicited a response in the standing cricket by itself, but they had different impacts on walking responses to airflow stimuli. While the 15-kHz tone reduced response probability, extended moving distance, and enhanced turn-angle variability, the 5-kHz tone had no effect. Although both frequencies of tones facilitated walking backward, the 15-kHz tone had a larger effect than the 5-kHz tone. These frequency dependencies of behavioural modulation suggest that crickets can recognize acoustic contexts and alter their escape strategy accordingly.
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39
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Bailey NW, Moran PA, Hennig RM. Divergent mechanisms of acoustic mate recognition between closely related field cricket species (Teleogryllus spp.). Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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40
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Roy A. The Theory of Localist Representation and of a Purely Abstract Cognitive System: The Evidence from Cortical Columns, Category Cells, and Multisensory Neurons. Front Psychol 2017; 8:186. [PMID: 28261127 PMCID: PMC5311062 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2016] [Accepted: 01/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The debate about representation in the brain and the nature of the cognitive system has been going on for decades now. This paper examines the neurophysiological evidence, primarily from single cell recordings, to get a better perspective on both the issues. After an initial review of some basic concepts, the paper reviews the data from single cell recordings - in cortical columns and of category-selective and multisensory neurons. In neuroscience, columns in the neocortex (cortical columns) are understood to be a basic functional/computational unit. The paper reviews the fundamental discoveries about the columnar organization and finds that it reveals a massively parallel search mechanism. This columnar organization could be the most extensive neurophysiological evidence for the widespread use of localist representation in the brain. The paper also reviews studies of category-selective cells. The evidence for category-selective cells reveals that localist representation is also used to encode complex abstract concepts at the highest levels of processing in the brain. A third major issue is the nature of the cognitive system in the brain and whether there is a form that is purely abstract and encoded by single cells. To provide evidence for a single-cell based purely abstract cognitive system, the paper reviews some of the findings related to multisensory cells. It appears that there is widespread usage of multisensory cells in the brain in the same areas where sensory processing takes place. Plus there is evidence for abstract modality invariant cells at higher levels of cortical processing. Overall, that reveals the existence of a purely abstract cognitive system in the brain. The paper also argues that since there is no evidence for dense distributed representation and since sparse representation is actually used to encode memories, there is actually no evidence for distributed representation in the brain. Overall, it appears that, at an abstract level, the brain is a massively parallel, distributed computing system that is symbolic. The paper also explains how grounded cognition and other theories of the brain are fully compatible with localist representation and a purely abstract cognitive system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asim Roy
- Department of Information Systems, Arizona State University, TempeAZ, USA
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41
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Schwartz JJ, Hossain R. Is it one call or two? Perception of inter-pulse and inter-call intervals in the grey treefrog, Hyla versicolor. BEHAVIOUR 2017. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Female grey treefrogs, Hyla versicolor, treat a call with an anomalously large gap between call pulses as relatively unattractive. However, whether such a ‘call’ is treated (or perhaps perceived) as a single call or two separate calls, an issue relevant to the problem of perceptual segregation of calls of different males, was unclear. We tested whether there could be gaps shorter than a typical inter-call interval that would be sufficient to elicit the latter percept by offering females a choice between a 5-pulse call and 13-pulse call separated by a 1575-ms gap and these pulse strings separated by shorter gaps. Preliminary results suggested that perception of inter-call gaps was categorical, and the distributions of such gaps between males in choruses were compatible with this finding. However, when we also offered females call alternatives designed to specifically test the hypothesis of categorical perception, predictions were only sometimes met.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua J. Schwartz
- Department of Biology and Health Sciences, Pace University, Pleasantville, NY 10570, USA
| | - Ridwan Hossain
- Department of Biology and Health Sciences, Pace University, Pleasantville, NY 10570, USA
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42
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ter Hofstede H, Voigt-Heucke S, Lang A, Römer H, Page R, Faure P, Dechmann D. Revisiting adaptations of neotropical katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) to gleaning bat predation. NEOTROPICAL BIODIVERSITY 2017; 3:41-49. [PMID: 28261664 PMCID: PMC5312797 DOI: 10.1080/23766808.2016.1272314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2016] [Accepted: 12/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
All animals have defenses against predators, but assessing the effectiveness of such traits is challenging. Neotropical katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) are an abundant, ubiquitous, and diverse group of large insects eaten by a variety of predators, including substrate-gleaning bats. Gleaning bats capture food from surfaces and usually use prey-generated sounds to detect and locate prey. A number of Neotropical katydid signaling traits, such as the emission of ultrasonic frequencies, substrate vibration communication, infrequent calling, and ultrasound-evoked song cessation are thought to have evolved as defenses against substrate-gleaning bats. We collected insect remains from hairy big-eared bat (Micronycteris hirsuta) roosts in Panama. We identified insect remains to order, species, or genus and quantified the proportion of prey with defenses against predatory bats based on defenses described in the literature. Most remains were from katydids and half of those were from species with documented defenses against substrate-gleaning bats. Many culled remains were from insects that do not emit mate-calling songs (e.g. beetles, dragonflies, cockroaches, and female katydids), indicating that eavesdropping on prey signals is not the only prey-finding strategy used by this bat. Our results show that substrate-gleaning bats can occasionally overcome katydid defenses.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Silke Voigt-Heucke
- Department of Biology, Chemistry, and Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | | | - Rachel Page
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon, Panama
| | - Paul Faure
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Dina Dechmann
- Department of Biology, Universitat Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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43
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Cognitive Phenotypes and the Evolution of Animal Decisions. Trends Ecol Evol 2016; 31:850-859. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2016.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2016] [Revised: 08/23/2016] [Accepted: 08/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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44
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Hedwig BG. Sequential Filtering Processes Shape Feature Detection in Crickets: A Framework for Song Pattern Recognition. Front Physiol 2016; 7:46. [PMID: 26941647 PMCID: PMC4766296 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2016.00046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2015] [Accepted: 02/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Intraspecific acoustic communication requires filtering processes and feature detectors in the auditory pathway of the receiver for the recognition of species-specific signals. Insects like acoustically communicating crickets allow describing and analysing the mechanisms underlying auditory processing at the behavioral and neural level. Female crickets approach male calling song, their phonotactic behavior is tuned to the characteristic features of the song, such as the carrier frequency and the temporal pattern of sound pulses. Data from behavioral experiments and from neural recordings at different stages of processing in the auditory pathway lead to a concept of serially arranged filtering mechanisms. These encompass a filter for the carrier frequency at the level of the hearing organ, and the pulse duration through phasic onset responses of afferents and reciprocal inhibition of thoracic interneurons. Further, processing by a delay line and coincidence detector circuit in the brain leads to feature detecting neurons that specifically respond to the species-specific pulse rate, and match the characteristics of the phonotactic response. This same circuit may also control the response to the species-specific chirp pattern. Based on these serial filters and the feature detecting mechanism, female phonotactic behavior is shaped and tuned to the characteristic properties of male calling song.
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45
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Kershenbaum A, Blumstein DT, Roch MA, Akçay Ç, Backus G, Bee MA, Bohn K, Cao Y, Carter G, Cäsar C, Coen M, DeRuiter SL, Doyle L, Edelman S, Ferrer-i-Cancho R, Freeberg TM, Garland EC, Gustison M, Harley HE, Huetz C, Hughes M, Bruno JH, Ilany A, Jin DZ, Johnson M, Ju C, Karnowski J, Lohr B, Manser MB, McCowan B, Mercado E, Narins PM, Piel A, Rice M, Salmi R, Sasahara K, Sayigh L, Shiu Y, Taylor C, Vallejo EE, Waller S, Zamora-Gutierrez V. Acoustic sequences in non-human animals: a tutorial review and prospectus. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2016; 91:13-52. [PMID: 25428267 PMCID: PMC4444413 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 138] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2014] [Revised: 10/02/2014] [Accepted: 10/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Animal acoustic communication often takes the form of complex sequences, made up of multiple distinct acoustic units. Apart from the well-known example of birdsong, other animals such as insects, amphibians, and mammals (including bats, rodents, primates, and cetaceans) also generate complex acoustic sequences. Occasionally, such as with birdsong, the adaptive role of these sequences seems clear (e.g. mate attraction and territorial defence). More often however, researchers have only begun to characterise - let alone understand - the significance and meaning of acoustic sequences. Hypotheses abound, but there is little agreement as to how sequences should be defined and analysed. Our review aims to outline suitable methods for testing these hypotheses, and to describe the major limitations to our current and near-future knowledge on questions of acoustic sequences. This review and prospectus is the result of a collaborative effort between 43 scientists from the fields of animal behaviour, ecology and evolution, signal processing, machine learning, quantitative linguistics, and information theory, who gathered for a 2013 workshop entitled, 'Analysing vocal sequences in animals'. Our goal is to present not just a review of the state of the art, but to propose a methodological framework that summarises what we suggest are the best practices for research in this field, across taxa and across disciplines. We also provide a tutorial-style introduction to some of the most promising algorithmic approaches for analysing sequences. We divide our review into three sections: identifying the distinct units of an acoustic sequence, describing the different ways that information can be contained within a sequence, and analysing the structure of that sequence. Each of these sections is further subdivided to address the key questions and approaches in that area. We propose a uniform, systematic, and comprehensive approach to studying sequences, with the goal of clarifying research terms used in different fields, and facilitating collaboration and comparative studies. Allowing greater interdisciplinary collaboration will facilitate the investigation of many important questions in the evolution of communication and sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arik Kershenbaum
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, 1122 Volunteer Blvd., Suite 106, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-3410, USA
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Daniel T. Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, 621 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA
| | - Marie A. Roch
- Department of Computer Science, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Dr, San Diego, CA 92182, USA
| | - Çağlar Akçay
- Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Gregory Backus
- Department of Biomathematics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
| | - Mark A. Bee
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 100 Ecology Building, 1987 Upper Buford Cir, Falcon Heights, MN 55108, USA
| | - Kirsten Bohn
- Integrated Science, Florida International University, Modesto Maidique Campus, 11200 SW 8th Street, AHC-4, 351, Miami, FL 33199, USA
| | - Yan Cao
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W Campbell Rd, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
| | - Gerald Carter
- Biological Sciences Graduate Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Cristiane Cäsar
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St Mary’s Quad South Street, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, UK
| | - Michael Coen
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin, K6/446 Clinical Sciences Center, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792-4675, USA
| | - Stacy L. DeRuiter
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St. Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9SS, UK
| | - Laurance Doyle
- Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe, SETI Institute, 189 Bernardo Ave, Suite 100, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - Shimon Edelman
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, 211 Uris Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-7601, USA
| | - Ramon Ferrer-i-Cancho
- Department of Computer Science, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, (Catalonia), Calle Jordi Girona, 31, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Todd M. Freeberg
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Austin Peay Building, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA
| | - Ellen C. Garland
- National Marine Mammal Laboratory, AFSC/NOAA, 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Seattle, Washington 98115, USA
| | - Morgan Gustison
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Heidi E. Harley
- Division of Social Sciences, New College of Florida, 5800 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota, FL 34243, USA
| | - Chloé Huetz
- CNPS, CNRS UMR 8195, Université Paris-Sud, UMR 8195, Batiments 440-447, Rue Claude Bernard, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - Melissa Hughes
- Department of Biology, College of Charleston, 66 George St, Charleston, SC 29424, USA
| | - Julia Hyland Bruno
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, The City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Amiyaal Ilany
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, 1122 Volunteer Blvd., Suite 106, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-3410, USA
| | - Dezhe Z. Jin
- Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State University, 104 Davey Lab, University Park, PA 16802-6300, USA
| | - Michael Johnson
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Marquette University, 1515 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53233, USA
| | - Chenghui Ju
- Department of Biology, Queen College, The City Univ. of New York, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, New York 11367, USA
| | - Jeremy Karnowski
- Department of Cognitive Science, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0515, USA
| | - Bernard Lohr
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA
| | - Marta B. Manser
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Brenda McCowan
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, 1 Peter J Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Eduardo Mercado
- Department of Psychology; Evolution, Ecology, & Behavior, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Park Hall Room 204, Buffalo, NY 14260-4110, USA
| | - Peter M. Narins
- Department of Integrative Biology & Physiology, University of California Los Angeles, 612 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7246, USA
| | - Alex Piel
- Division of Biological Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Pembroke Street Cambridge, CB2 3QG, UK
| | - Megan Rice
- Department of Psychology, California State University San Marcos, 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Rd., San Marcos, CA 92096-0001, USA
| | - Roberta Salmi
- Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia at Athens, 355 S Jackson St, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Kazutoshi Sasahara
- Graduate School of Information Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Laela Sayigh
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 86 Water St, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
| | - Yu Shiu
- Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Charles Taylor
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, 621 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA
| | - Edgar E. Vallejo
- Department of Computer Science, Monterrey Institute of Technology, Ave. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501 Sur Col. Tecnológico C.P. 64849, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
| | - Sara Waller
- Department of Philosophy, Montana State University, 2-155 Wilson Hall, Bozeman, Montana 59717, USA
| | - Veronica Zamora-Gutierrez
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environmental Research, University College London, London WC1H 0AG, UK
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48
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Abstract
Insect hearing has independently evolved multiple times in the context of intraspecific communication and predator detection by transforming proprioceptive organs into ears. Research over the past decade, ranging from the biophysics of sound reception to molecular aspects of auditory transduction to the neuronal mechanisms of auditory signal processing, has greatly advanced our understanding of how insects hear. Apart from evolutionary innovations that seem unique to insect hearing, parallels between insect and vertebrate auditory systems have been uncovered, and the auditory sensory cells of insects and vertebrates turned out to be evolutionarily related. This review summarizes our current understanding of insect hearing. It also discusses recent advances in insect auditory research, which have put forward insect auditory systems for studying biological aspects that extend beyond hearing, such as cilium function, neuronal signal computation, and sensory system evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin C Göpfert
- Department of Cellular Neurobiology, University of Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany;
| | - R Matthias Hennig
- Department of Biology, Behavioral Physiology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, D-10115 Berlin, Germany;
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49
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Ter Hofstede HM, Schöneich S, Robillard T, Hedwig B. Evolution of a Communication System by Sensory Exploitation of Startle Behavior. Curr Biol 2015; 25:3245-52. [PMID: 26687622 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.10.064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2015] [Revised: 09/21/2015] [Accepted: 10/27/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
New communication signals can evolve by sensory exploitation if signaling taps into preexisting sensory biases in receivers [1, 2]. For mate attraction, signals are typically similar to attractive environmental cues like food [3-6], which amplifies their attractiveness to mates, as opposed to aversive stimuli like predator cues. Female field crickets approach the low-frequency calling song of males, whereas they avoid high-frequency sounds like predatory bat calls [7]. In one group of crickets (Eneopterinae: Lebinthini), however, males produce exceptionally high-frequency calling songs in the range of bat calls [8], a surprising signal in the context of mate attraction. We found that female lebinthines, instead of approaching singing males, produce vibrational responses after male calls, and males track the source of vibrations to find females. We also demonstrate that field cricket species closely related to the Lebinthini show an acoustic startle response to high-frequency sounds that generates substrate vibrations similar to those produced by female lebinthine crickets. Therefore, the startle response is the most likely evolutionary origin of the female lebinthine vibrational signal. In field crickets, the brain receives activity from two auditory interneurons; AN1 tuned to male calling song controls positive phonotaxis, and AN2 tuned to high-frequency bat calls triggers negative phonotaxis [9, 10]. In lebinthine crickets, however, we found that auditory ascending neurons are only tuned to high-frequency sounds, and their tuning matches the thresholds for female vibrational signals. Our results demonstrate how sensory exploitation of anti-predator behavior can evolve into a communication system that benefits both senders and receivers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah M Ter Hofstede
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
| | - Stefan Schöneich
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK; Institute for Biology, University of Leipzig, Talstraße 33, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tony Robillard
- Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Institut de Systématique, Evolution et Biodiversité, ISYEB, UMR 7205, CNRS MNHN UPMC EPHE, CP 50 (Entomologie), 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
| | - Berthold Hedwig
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
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50
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Fukutomi M, Someya M, Ogawa H. Auditory modulation of wind-elicited walking behavior in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 218:3968-77. [PMID: 26519512 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.128751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2015] [Accepted: 10/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Animals flexibly change their locomotion triggered by an identical stimulus depending on the environmental context and behavioral state. This indicates that additional sensory inputs in different modality from the stimulus triggering the escape response affect the neuronal circuit governing that behavior. However, how the spatio-temporal relationships between these two stimuli effect a behavioral change remains unknown. We studied this question, using crickets, which respond to a short air-puff by oriented walking activity mediated by the cercal sensory system. In addition, an acoustic stimulus, such as conspecific 'song' received by the tympanal organ, elicits a distinct oriented locomotion termed phonotaxis. In this study, we examined the cross-modal effects on wind-elicited walking when an acoustic stimulus was preceded by an air-puff and tested whether the auditory modulation depends on the coincidence of the direction of both stimuli. A preceding 10 kHz pure tone biased the wind-elicited walking in a backward direction and elevated a threshold of the wind-elicited response, whereas other movement parameters, including turn angle, reaction time, walking speed and distance were unaffected. The auditory modulations, however, did not depend on the coincidence of the stimulus directions. A preceding sound consistently altered the wind-elicited walking direction and response probability throughout the experimental sessions, meaning that the auditory modulation did not result from previous experience or associative learning. These results suggest that the cricket nervous system is able to integrate auditory and air-puff stimuli, and modulate the wind-elicited escape behavior depending on the acoustic context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matasaburo Fukutomi
- Biosystems Science Course, Graduate School of Life Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
| | - Makoto Someya
- Biosystems Science Course, Graduate School of Life Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
| | - Hiroto Ogawa
- PREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Kawaguchi 332-0012, Japan Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
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