Summary
Thresholds for pure tones masked by broad band white noise were measured in the bat,Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, using a classically conditioned response to shock. The critical ratios obtained from the masked thresholds differ from those obtained from other mammals in that some of the fine structure of the behavioural hearing curve is reflected in the critical ratio curve. This difference is discussed in relation to specializations of the auditory system of this bat.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bruns, V.: Peripheral auditory tuning in the Doppler shift compensating bat,Rhinolophus ferrumequinum: I. Mechanical properties of the cochlea. J. comp. Physiol.106, 77–86 (1976a)
Bruns, V.: Peripheral auditory tuning in the Doppler shift compensation bat,Rhinolophus ferrumequinum: II. Frequency mapping in the cochlea. J. comp. Physiol.106, 87–97 (1976b)
Ehret, G.: Masked auditory thresholds, critical ratios and scales of the basilar membrane of the house mouse (Mus musculus) J. comp. Physiol.103, 329–341 (1975)
Fay, R.F.: Masking of tones by noise for the Goldfish (Carassius auratus). J. comp. Physiol. Psychol.87, 708–716 (1974)
Fletcher, H.: Auditory patterns. Rev. Mod. Physiol.12, 47–65 (1940)
Fletcher, H.: Speech and hearing in communication. Princeton, N.J.: Van Nostrand 1953
Greenwood, D.D.: Critical bandwidth and the frequency coordinates of the basilar membrane. J. acoust. Soc. Amer.33, 1344–1356 (1961)
Hawkins, A.A., Chapman, C.J.: Masked auditory thresholds in the cod,Gadus morhua L. J. comp. Physiol.103, 209–226 (1975)
Hawkins, J.E., Stevens, S.S.: The masking of pure tones and of speech by white noise. J. acoust. Soc. Amer.22, 6–13 (1950)
Johnson, C.S.: Masked tonal thresholds in the bottlenosed porpoise. J. acoust. Soc. Amer.44, 965–967 (1968)
Long, G.R., Schnitzler, H.-U.: Behavioural audiograms from the bat,Rhinolophus ferrumequinum. J. comp. Physiol.100, 211–219 (1975)
Merzenich, M.M., Ried, M.D.: Representation of the cochlea within the inferior colliculus of the cat. Brain Res.77, 397–415 (1974)
Pickles, J.O.: Role of centrifugal pathways to cochlear nucleus in determination of critical bandwidth. J. Neurophysiol.39, 394–400 (1976)
Pye, A.: The structure of the cochlea in Chiroptera: 1. Microchiroptera: Emballonuroidae and Rhinolophoidae. J. Morph.118, 495–510 (1966)
Scharf, B.: Critical Bands. In.: Foundation of modern auditory theory, Vol. 1. (ed. J.W. Tobias), pp. 159–202. New York: Academic Press 1970
Schnitzler, H.-U.: Die Echoortung der Fledermäuse und ihre hörphysiologischen Grundlagen. Fortschr. Zool.21, 136–189 (1973)
Schnitzler, H.-U., Suga, N., Simmons, J.A.: Peripheral auditory tuning in the Doppier shift compensating bat,Rhinolophus ferrumequinum: III. Cochlea microphonics and auditory nerve responses. J. comp. Physiol.106, 99–110 (1976)
Schuller, G.: Echoortung beiRhinolophus ferrumequinum mit frequenzmodulierten Lauten. J. comp. Physiol.77, 306–331 (1972)
Schuller, G., Beuter, K., Schnitzler, H.-U.: Response to frequency shifted artificial echos in the bat,Rhinolophus ferrumequinum. J. comp. Physiol.89, 275–286 (1974)
Seaton, W.H., Trahiotis, C.: Comparison of critical ratios and critical bands in the monaural chinchilla. J. acoust. Soc. Amer.57, 193–199 (1975)
Suga, N., Neuweiler, G., Möller, J.: Peripheral auditory tuning in the Doppler shift compensating bat,Rhinolophus ferrumequinum. IV. Properties of peripheral auditory neurons. J. comp. Physiol.106, 111–125 (1975)
Watson, C.S.: Masking of tones by noise for the cat. J. acoust. Soc. Amer.35, 989–997 (1963)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, grant No. Sch 138/3&4, and Stiftung Volkswagenwerk Az. 111858
I thank H.U. Schnitzler and the Arbeitsgruppe Neuro- und Rezeptorphysiologie, Fachbereich Biologie der J.W. Goethe Universität, Frankfurt am Main for help and encouragement during the course of the experiment, Dr. L.H. Roberts and J.A. Simmons for criticism of the manuscript, and to the Life Sciences Department of the Polytechnic of Central London for providing support during the preparation of the paper.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Long, G.R. Masked auditory thresholds from the bat,Rhinolophus ferrumequinum . J. Comp. Physiol. 116, 247–255 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00605406
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00605406