Computational themes of peripheral processing in the auditory pathway of insects

Hildebrandt, K. Jannis; Benda, Jan; Hennig, R. Matthias

doi:10.1007/s00359-014-0956-5

Cited by 22 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…Mechanical and non-neural mechanisms of the moth ear contribute to filtering and amplification of the signal. The broadly tuned receptor diverges the signal onto many interneurons providing feature extraction as found in other insects (Hildebrandt et al, 2015). Since the informative signal is a change in the temporal pattern of the bat call, one A cell diverging on ascending interneurons can decode a search from an attack bat call.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simple ears – flexible behavior: Information processing in the moth auditory pathway

et al. 2015

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Lepidoptera evolved tympanic ears in response to echolocating bats. Comparative studies have shown that moth ears evolved many times independently from chordotonal organs. With only 1 to 4 receptor cells, they are one of the simplest hearing organs. The small number of receptors does not imply simplicity, neither in behavior nor in the neural circuit. Behaviorally, the response to ultrasound is far from being a simple reflex. Moths' escape behavior is modulated by a variety of cues, especially pheromones, which can alter the auditory response. Neurally the receptor cell(s) diverges onto many interneurons, enabling parallel processing and feature extraction. Ascending interneurons and sound-sensitive brain neurons innervate a neuropil in the ventrolateral protocerebrum. Further, recent electrophysiological data provides the first glimpses into how the acoustic response is modulated as well as how ultrasound influences the other senses. So far, the auditory pathway has been studied in noctuids.The findings agree well with common computational principles found in other insects. However, moth ears also show unique mechanical and neural adaptation. Here, we first describe the variety of moths' auditory behavior, especially the co-option of ultrasonic signals for intraspecific communication. Second, we describe the current knowledge of the neural pathway gained from noctuid moths. Finally, we argue that Galleriinae which show negative and positive phonotaxis, are an interesting model species for future electrophysiological studies of the auditory pathway and multimodal sensory integration, and so are ideally suited for the study of the evolution of behavioral mechanisms given a few receptors [Current Zoology 61 (2): 292-302, 2015].

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simple ears – flexible behavior: Information processing in the moth auditory pathway

et al. 2015

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“…In addition, further sound sources such as abiotic (Brumm and Slabbekoorn, 2005;Reichert and Ronacher, 2015) or even anthropogenic noise (Lampe et al, 2012(Lampe et al, , 2014Schmidt et al, 2014) may impede signal representation and recognition. Crickets, bushcrickets and grasshoppers are known to employ several processing tools to reduce the detrimental effects of masking and noise (Einhäupl et al, 2011;Schmidt and Römer, 2011;Neuhofer and Ronacher, 2012;Hildebrandt et al, 2015), most prominently by forward masking, selective attention, formation of acoustic hemispheres and stream segregation (Pollack, 1986;Schul and Sheridan, 2006;Triblehorn and Schul, 2009;Schmidt and Römer, 2011). Our experiments support the observations from former studies (Pollack, 1986;Doherty, 1985), which demonstrated that female crickets are able to choose between two patterns and express a clear phonotactic preference irrespective of simultaneous or alternating stimulus situation or intensity differences (Figs 2, 3 and 4).…”

Section: Discussion Signal Representation and Cues For Decision Makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decision making and preferences for acoustic signals in choice situations by female crickets

Gabel

Kuntze

Hennig

2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Multiple attributes usually have to be assessed when choosing a mate. Efficient choice of the best mate is complicated if the available cues are not positively correlated, as is often the case during acoustic communication. Because of varying distances of signalers, a female may be confronted with signals of diverse quality at different intensities. Here, we examined how available cues are weighted for a decision by female crickets. Two songs with different temporal patterns and/or sound intensities were presented in a choice paradigm and compared with female responses from a no-choice test. When both patterns were presented at equal intensity, preference functions became wider in choice situations compared with a no-choice paradigm. When the stimuli in two-choice tests were presented at different intensities, this effect was counteracted as preference functions became narrower compared with choice tests using stimuli of equal intensity. The weighting of intensity differences depended on pattern quality and was therefore non-linear. A simple computational model based on pattern and intensity cues reliably predicted female decisions. A comparison of processing schemes suggested that the computations for pattern recognition and directionality are performed in a network with parallel topology. However, the computational flow of information corresponded to serial processing.

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“…This process represents an on-off mechanism with similarity to a positive half-wave rectifier response with a consequent capacitive charging effect. The cellular membrane of the mechanoreceptor cells can be seen as a small capacitor which charges every time strain increases and discharges when it decreases [18,19]. Auditory mechanoreceptor cells possess synaptic contacts with auditory neurons.…”

Section: Background Biology -The Moth Hearing Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simple Ears Inspire Frequency Agility in an Engineered Acoustic Sensor System

2017

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Abstract-Standard microphones and ultrasonic devices are generally designed with a static and flat frequency response in order to address multiple acoustic applications. However, they may not be flexible or adaptable enough to deal with some requirements. For instance, when operated in noisy environments such devices may be vulnerable to wideband background noise which will require further signal processing techniques to remove it, generally relying on digital processor units. In this work, we consider if microphones and ultrasonic devices could be designed to be sensitive only at selected frequencies of interest, whilst also providing flexibility in order to adapt to different signals of interest and to deal with environmental demands. This research exploits the concept where the "transducer becomes part of the signal processing chain" by exploring feedback processes between mechanical and electrical mechanisms that together can enhance peripheral sound processing. This capability is present within a biological acoustic system, namely in the ears of certain moths. That was used as the model of inspiration for a smart acoustic sensor system which provides dynamic adaptation of its frequency response with amplitude and time dependency according to the input signal of interest.

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Computational themes of peripheral processing in the auditory pathway of insects

Cited by 22 publications

References 87 publications

Simple ears – flexible behavior: Information processing in the moth auditory pathway

Simple ears – flexible behavior: Information processing in the moth auditory pathway

Decision making and preferences for acoustic signals in choice situations by female crickets

Simple Ears Inspire Frequency Agility in an Engineered Acoustic Sensor System

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