Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 21 April 1978:
Vol. 200. no. 4339, pp. 339 - 342
DOI: 10.1126/science.635594
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Articles

Science, Vol 200, Issue 4339, 339-342
Copyright © 1978 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Aural representation in the Doppler-shifted-CF processing area of the auditory cortex of the mustache bat

T Manabe N Suga and J Ostwald

In the mustache bat (Pteronotus pamellii rubiginosus) the frequency and amplitude of an acoustic signal are represented in the coordinates parallel to the surface of the Doppler-shifted-CF (constant frequency) processing area ofthe primary auditory cortex. In this area all cortical neurons studied were excited by contralateral stimuli, and almost all of them were either excited or inhibited by ipsilateral stimuli. These are called E-E (ipsilateral and contralateral excitatory) and I-E (ipsilateral inhibitory and contralateral excitatory) neurons, respectively. The I-E neurons are directionally sensitive, while the E-E neurons are not. The E-E neurons are equally sensitive to echoes between 30° contralateral and 30° ipsilateral. Of the electrode penetrations orthogonal to the Doppler-shifted-CF processing area, 57 percent were characterized by either E-E or I-E neurons. Thus, there are at least two types of binaural columns: E-E columns, mainly located in a ventral part of the Doppler-shifted-CF processing area, where neurons are tuned to weak echoes; and IE columns, mainly distributed in a dorsal part, where neurons are tuned to moderate to intense echoes. Therefore, neurons tuned to weaker echoes integrate or even multiply faint signals from both ears for effective detection of a distant small target, while neurons tuned to moderate to intense echoes are suited for processing directional information and are stimulated when a bat approaches a target at short range. The Doppler-shifted-CF processing area may be considered to consist of two functional subdivisions.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
DSCF Neurons Within the Primary Auditory Cortex of the Mustached Bat Process Frequency Modulations Present Within Social Calls.
S. D. Washington and J. S. Kanwal (2008)
J Neurophysiol 100, 3285-3304
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Bilateral Cortical Interaction: Modulation of Delay-Tuned Neurons in the Contralateral Auditory Cortex.
J. Tang, Z. Xiao, and N. Suga (2007)
J. Neurosci. 27, 8405-8413
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Asymmetry in corticofugal modulation of frequency-tuning in mustached bat auditory system.
Z. Xiao and N. Suga (2005)
PNAS 102, 19162-19167
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Binaural Interaction Revisited in the Cat Primary Auditory Cortex.
J. Zhang, K. T. Nakamoto, and L. M. Kitzes (2004)
J Neurophysiol 91, 101-117
   Abstract »    Full Text »
The corticofugal system for hearing: Recent progress.
N. Suga, E. Gao, Y. Zhang, X. Ma, and J. F. Olsen (2000)
PNAS 97, 11807-11814
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Neural axis representing target range in the auditory cortex of the mustache bat.
N Suga and W. O'Neill (1979)
Science 206, 351-353
   Abstract »    PDF »
Harmonic-sensitive neurons in the auditory cortex of the mustache bat.
N Suga, W. O'Neill, and T Manabe (1979)
Science 203, 270-274
   Abstract »    PDF »
Cortical neurons sensitive to combinations of information-bearing elements of biosonar signals in the mustache bat.
N Suga, W. O'Neill, and T Manabe (1978)
Science 200, 778-781
   Abstract »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)