Modulation of activity in starling cochlear ganglion units by middle-ear muscle contractions, perilymph movements and lagena stimuli

Oeckinghaus, Horst

doi:10.1007/bf01351358

Cited by 9 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 29 publications

(23 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Central projections of primary afferent nerve fibers suggest that the lagena of reptiles has an auditory function [Hamilton, 1963] and that that of birds has both equilibrium and auditory functions [Boord and Karten, 1974;Boord and Rasmussen, 1963]. A physiological study, however, suggests that the lagena plays no role in auditory sensing in birds [Oeckinghaus, 1985].…”

Section: The Lagenamentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparison of the Linear Tuning Properties of Two Classes of Axons in the Bullfrog Lagena

Cortopassi

Lewis

1998

Brain Behav Evol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Various vertebrate inner-ear end organs appear to have switched their sensory function between equilibrium sensing and acoustic sensing over the courses of various lines of evolution. It is possible that all that is required to make this transition is to provide an end organ with access to the appropriate stimulus mode and frequency range. If, as we believe, however, the adaptive advantage of an acoustic sensory system lies in its ability to sort the total acoustic input into components that correspond to individual acoustic sources, and the adaptive advantage of an equilibrium sensory system lies in its ability to compute the total orientation and motion of the head without regard to the individual sources contributing to that orientation and motion, then it is easy to argue that the differences between acoustic and equilibrium sensors should be more profound than simply access to the appropriate stimuli. Effective signal-sorting requires high resolution in both time and frequency; to achieve this resolution, a peripheral tuning structure must be one of high dynamic order (i.e., constructed from multiple independent energy storage elements). If the peripheral tuning structure simply converts head acceleration to head displacement, velocity, or jerk (i.e., provides one or two steps of integration or differentiation with respect to time, where one energy storage element per step is required), then high dynamic order is inappropriate. Because the bullfrog lagena possesses both acoustic and equilibrium sensitive regions, it is especially suited for comparing these two sensor types and addressing the question of dynamic order of tuning. In this paper we report observations of the linear tuning properties of bullfrog lagenar primary afferent nerve fibers obtained by stimulating the lagena with random, dorsoventral micromotion over the frequency range from 10 Hz to 1.0 kHz. Tuning curves obtained by reverse correlation analysis and discrete Fourier transformation were used to estimate the dynamic order of each fiber’s associated peripheral tuning structure. We found two classes of lagenar afferent axons – those with lowpass amplitude tuning characteristics (44 units) and those with bandpass amplitude tuning characteristics (73 units). Lowpass units were found to originate at the equilibrium region of the macula, and they exhibited low dynamic order – summed low- and high-frequency slopes (absolute values) ranged from 10 dB/decade to 64 dB/decade, implying dynamic orders of less than one to three (the modal value was equal to one). Bandpass units were found to originate at the acoustic region of the macula, and they exhibited higher dynamic order than lowpass units – summed low- and high-frequency slopes (absolute values) ranged from 53 dB/decade to 185 dB/decade, implying dynamic orders of three to nine (the modal value was equal to five). It appears that while lagenar equilibrium and acoustic sensors both possess access to signals in the acoustic frequency range, lagenar acoustic sensors are tuned by means of periphe...

show abstract

Section: The Lagenamentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparison of the Linear Tuning Properties of Two Classes of Axons in the Bullfrog Lagena

Cortopassi

Lewis

1998

Brain Behav Evol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In birds, some auditory sensitivity has been ascribed to the lagena (Boord and Rasmussen; , Boord and Karten, ). However, a growing body of evidence suggests vestibular function, although conclusive evidence is not yet available (Oekinghaus, ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Central projections of lagenar primary neurons in the chick

Mahmoud

Reed

Maklad

2013

J of Comparative Neurology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Perception of linear acceleration and head position is the function of the utricle and saccule in mammals. Nonmammalian vertebrates possess a third otolith endorgan, the macula lagena. Different functions have been ascribed to the lagena in arboreal birds, including hearing, equilibrium, homing behavior, and magnetoreception. However, no conclusive evidence on the function of the lagena in birds is currently available. The present study is aimed at providing a neuroanatomical substrate for the function of the lagena in the chicken as an example of terrestrial birds. The afferents from the lagena of chick embryos (E19) to the brainstem and cerebellum were investigated by the sensitive lipophilic tracer Neuro Vue Red in postfixed ears. The results revealed that all the main vestibular nuclei, including the tangential nucleus, received lagenar projections. No lagenar terminals were found in auditory centers, including the cochlear nuclei. In the cerebellum, the labeled terminals were found variably in all of the cerebellar nuclei. In the cerebellar cortex, the labeled fibers were found mostly in the uvula, with fewer afferents in the flocculus and paraflocculus. None was seen in the nodulus. The absence of lagenar afferent projections in auditory nuclei and the presence of a projection pattern in the vestibular nuclei and cerebellum similar to that of the utricle and saccule suggest that the primary role of the lagena in the chick lies in the processing of vestibular information related to linear acceleration and static head position.

show abstract

On the Evolution of Acoustic Communication Systems in Vertebrates

Norris

Evans

1988

Animal Sonar

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Modulation of activity in starling cochlear ganglion units by middle-ear muscle contractions, perilymph movements and lagena stimuli

Cited by 9 publications

References 29 publications

A Comparison of the Linear Tuning Properties of Two Classes of Axons in the Bullfrog Lagena

A Comparison of the Linear Tuning Properties of Two Classes of Axons in the Bullfrog Lagena

Central projections of lagenar primary neurons in the chick

On the Evolution of Acoustic Communication Systems in Vertebrates

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About