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Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology
Published in: Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology 1/2017

01-02-2017 | Review Article

Comparative Auditory Neuroscience: Understanding the Evolution and Function of Ears

Author: Geoffrey A. Manley

Published in: Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology | Issue 1/2017

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Abstract

Comparative auditory studies make it possible both to understand the origins of modern ears and the factors underlying the similarities and differences in their performance. After all lineages of land vertebrates had independently evolved tympanic middle ears in the early Mesozoic era, the subsequent tens of millions of years led to the hearing organ of lizards, birds, and mammals becoming larger and their upper frequency limits higher. In extant species, lizard papillae remained relatively small (<2 mm), but avian papillae attained a maximum length of 11 mm, with the highest frequencies in both groups near 12 kHz. Hearing-organ sizes in modern mammals vary more than tenfold, up to >70 mm (made possible by coiling), as do their upper frequency limits (from 12 to >200 kHz). The auditory organs of the three amniote groups differ characteristically in their cellular structure, but their hearing sensitivity and frequency selectivity within their respective hearing ranges hardly differ. In the immediate primate ancestors of humans, the cochlea became larger and lowered its upper frequency limit. Modern humans show an unusual trend in frequency selectivity as a function of frequency. It is conceivable that the frequency selectivity patterns in humans were influenced in their evolution by the development of speech.
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Metadata
Title
Comparative Auditory Neuroscience: Understanding the Evolution and Function of Ears
Author
Geoffrey A. Manley
Publication date
01-02-2017
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology / Issue 1/2017
Print ISSN: 1525-3961
Electronic ISSN: 1438-7573
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10162-016-0579-3

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