AM representation in green treefrog auditory nerve fibers: neuroethological implications for pattern recognition and sound localization

In addition to spectral call components, temporal patterns in the advertisement-call envelope of green treefrog males ( Hyla cinerea) provide important cues for female mate choice. Rapid amplitude modulation (AM) with rates of 250-300 Hz is typical for this species' advertisement calls. Here we...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Comparative Physiology 2004-12, Vol.190 (12), p.1011-1021
Main Authors: Klump, G M, Benedix, Jr, J H, Gerhardt, H C, Narins, P M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acoustic Stimulation - methods
Animal behavior
Animal reproduction
Animals
Behavior, Animal
Cochlear Nerve - cytology
Cochlear Nerve - physiology
Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation
Evoked Potentials, Auditory - physiology
Evoked Potentials, Auditory - radiation effects
Female
Females
Male
Neurons - radiation effects
Normal Distribution
Pattern Recognition, Physiological - physiology
Ranidae - physiology
Reaction Time - radiation effects
Sensory Thresholds - radiation effects
Sound Localization - physiology
Vocalization, Animal - physiology
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Summary:In addition to spectral call components, temporal patterns in the advertisement-call envelope of green treefrog males ( Hyla cinerea) provide important cues for female mate choice. Rapid amplitude modulation (AM) with rates of 250-300 Hz is typical for this species' advertisement calls. Here we report data on the encoding of these rapid call modulations by studying the responses of single auditory nerve fibers to two-tone stimuli with envelope periodicities close to those of the natural call. The free-field response properties of 86 nerve fibers were studied from 32 anesthetized males. The accuracy of stimulus envelope coding was quantified using both a Gaussian function fit to the interspike interval histograms derived from the first seven 20-ms stimulus segments, and the vector-strength metric applied to the phase-locked responses. Often, AM encoding in the initial stimulus segment was more faithful than that in its second half. This result may explain why conspecific females prefer calls in which the initial segment is unmasked rather than masked. Both the questions of pattern recognition and localization are discussed, and the data are related to behavioral observations of female choice and localization performance in this species.
ISSN:0340-7594
1432-1351
DOI:10.1007/s00359-004-0558-8