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Related Concept Videos

Echo01:06

Echo

The human ear cannot distinguish between two sources of sound if they happen to reach within a specific time interval, typically 0.1 seconds apart. More than this, and they are perceived as separate sources.
Imagine the sound is reflected back to the ears. Assuming that the source is very close to the human, the difference between hearing the two sounds—the emitted sound and the reflected sound—may be more than the minimum time for perceiving distinct sounds. If this is the case, then the...
Convergent Evolution01:54

Convergent Evolution

Evolution shapes the features of organisms over time, ensuring that they are suited for the environments in which they live. Sometimes, selection pressure leads to the rise of similar but unrelated adaptations in organisms with no recent common ancestors, a process known as convergent evolution.
The Cochlea01:13

The Cochlea

The cochlea is a coiled structure in the inner ear that contains hair cells—the sensory receptors of the auditory system. Sound waves are transmitted to the cochlea by small bones attached to the eardrum called the ossicles, which vibrate the oval window that leads to the inner ear. This causes fluid in the chambers of the cochlea to move, vibrating the basilar membrane.
Hearing01:31

Hearing

When we hear a sound, our nervous system is detecting sound waves—pressure waves of mechanical energy traveling through a medium. The frequency of the wave is perceived as pitch, while the amplitude is perceived as loudness.
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location01:21

Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location

The human brain perceives pitch through two primary mechanisms reflected in place theory and frequency theory. Each mechanism describes how sound waves are interpreted as specific pitches by the brain, offering insights into the intricate processes of auditory perception.
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...
Perception of Sound Waves01:01

Perception of Sound Waves

The human ear is not equally sensitive to all frequencies in the audible range. It may perceive sound waves with the same pressure but different frequencies as having different loudness. Moreover, the perception of sound waves depends on the health of an individual's ears, which decays with age. The health of one's ears may also be affected by regular exposure to loud noises.
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same frequency...

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Related Experiment Video

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Determining Ultrasonic Vocalization Preferences in Mice using a Two-choice Playback Test
08:16

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Published on: September 3, 2015

Adaptive vocal behavior drives perception by echolocation in bats.

Cynthia F Moss1, Chen Chiu, Annemarie Surlykke

  • 1University of Maryland, Department of Psychology, Biology-Psychology Building, College Park, MD 20742, United States. cmoss@psyc.umd.edu

Current Opinion in Neurobiology
|June 28, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Bats use adaptive sensorimotor systems for echolocation, enabling them to actively adjust sonar signals based on their perception of the environment. This vocal-motor behavior directly shapes their dynamic auditory scene representation.

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Area of Science:

  • Bioacoustics
  • Neuroethology
  • Sensory processing

Background:

  • Echolocation in bats relies on sophisticated sensorimotor systems for object localization and tracking during flight.
  • The characteristics of emitted sonar signals dictate the information acquired by the bat's acoustic imaging system.
  • Perception of the environment influences the bat's vocalizations, creating a feedback loop.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of active vocal-motor behaviors in shaping the bat's auditory scene representation.
  • To propose a model where vocalizations are not just probes but integral to auditory scene construction.

Main Methods:

  • Observational studies of bat flight and vocalizations.
  • Analysis of sonar signal features in relation to environmental complexity.
  • Modeling of sensorimotor feedback loops in echolocation.

Main Results:

  • Bats dynamically adjust sonar signal features based on perceived environmental information.
  • A strong correlation exists between vocal-motor output and the resulting auditory scene.
  • Evidence suggests vocalizations actively contribute to the construction of the auditory representation.

Conclusions:

  • The bat's active vocalizations are crucial components of its dynamic auditory scene representation.
  • Sensorimotor feedback in echolocation is a key mechanism for adaptive spatial awareness.
  • This active process allows bats to navigate and perceive complex environments effectively.