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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 13, 2026

Sound Source Localization Testing in Single-sided Deafness Following Bone Conduction Intervention

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Published on: December 20, 2024

Sound source localization and segregation with internally coupled ears: the treefrog model.

Mark A Bee¹, Jakob Christensen-Dalsgaard²

¹Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, 140 Gortner Laboratories, 1479 Gortner Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA. mbee@umn.edu.

Biological Cybernetics

|October 13, 2016

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Frogs use their coupled ears to pinpoint sound origins and separate calls in noisy environments. This review explores how frog auditory systems achieve sound localization and segregation.

Keywords:

Auditory grouping Auditory scene analysis Auditory stream segregation Pressure difference receiver Pressure gradient receiver

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Area of Science:

Zoology
Bioacoustics
Neuroscience

Background:

Anurans (frogs and toads) rely on acoustic signaling for reproduction and social behaviors.
Complex environments like dense ponds and noisy choruses challenge auditory perception.

Purpose of the Study:

To review studies on how internally coupled frog ears contribute to sound source localization and segregation.
To highlight treefrogs (Hyla) as model systems for this research.

Main Methods:

Review of anatomical, biophysical, neurophysiological, and behavioral studies.
Focus on research concerning treefrogs in the genus Hyla.

Main Results:

Internally coupled ears are crucial for frogs to determine sound origins (localization).
These auditory systems enable the separation of sounds in complex acoustic environments (segregation).

Conclusions:

Frog auditory systems, particularly in Hyla, offer insights into sound localization and segregation mechanisms.
Future research requires interdisciplinary collaboration between biologists, physicists, and roboticists.