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The nuclei of the lateral lemniscus in the rufous horseshoe bat,Rhinolophus rouxi

A neurophysiological approach

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Summary

  1. 1.

    In the rufous horseshoe bat,Rhinolophus rouxi, responses to pure tones and sinusoidally frequency modulated (SFM) signals were recorded from 289 single units and 241 multiunit clusters located in the nuclei of the lateral lemniscus (NLL).

  2. 2.

    The distribution of best frequencies (BFs) of units in all three nuclei of the lateral lemniscus showed an overrepresentation in the range corresponding to the constant-frequency (CF) part of the echolocation signal (‘filter frequency’ range): in the ventral nucleus of the lateral lemniscus (VNLL) ‘filter neurons’ represented 43% of all units encountered, in the intermediate nucleus (INLL) 33%, and in dorsal nucleus (DNLL) 29% (Fig. 2a). Neurons with best frequencies in the filter frequency range had highest Q10dB-values (maxima up to 400, Fig. 2c) and only in low-frequency units were values comparable to those found in other mammals. On the average, filter neurons in ventral nucleus had higher Q10dB-values (about 220) than did those in intermediate and dorsal nucleus (both about 160, Fig. 2d).

  3. 3.

    Response patterns and tuning properties showed higher complexity in the dorsal and intermediate nucleus than in the ventral nucleus of the lateral lemniscus (Figs. 4 and 6). Multiple best frequencies were found in 12 neurons, nine of them with harmonically related excitation maxima (Fig. 5c, d). Best frequencies of six of these harmonically tuned units could not be correlated with any harmonic components of the echolocation signal. Half of all multiple tuned neurons were located in the caudal dorsal nucleus the other half in the caudal intermediate nucleus.

  4. 4.

    Synchronization of responses to sinusoidally frequency modulated (SFM) signals occurred in VNLL-units in the average up to modulation frequencies of 515 Hz (maximum about 800 Hz) whereas in the intermediate and dorsal nucleus of the lateral lemniscus responses were synchronized in the average only up to modulation frequencies of about 300 Hz (maximum about 600 Hz) (Figs. 7 and 8).

  5. 5.

    A tonotopic arrangement of units was found in the intermediate nucleus of the lateral lemniscus with units having high best frequencies located medially and those with low best frequencies laterally. In the dorsal nucleus the tonotopic distribution was found to be fairly similar to that in the intermediate nucleus but much less pronounced. In more rostral parts of the dorsal nucleus additionally higher best frequencies predominated whereas in caudal areas of that nucleus and also of the intermediate nucleus low BFs were found more regularly. The ventral nucleus of the lateral lemniscus was characterized by a remarkably high proportion of neurons having best frequencies in the filter frequency range. In fact, the entire lateral, central and dorsomedial parts were devoted to the representation of the filter frequency. Lower best frequencies were present only in the medial parts of the ventral nucleus of the lateral lemniscus (Fig. 9).

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Abbreviations

BF :

best frequency

CF :

constant frequency component of the echolocation signal

CN :

cochlear nucleus

IC :

inferior colliculus

FM :

frequency modulated component of the echolocation signal

NLL :

nuclei of the lateral lemniscus

DNLL :

dorsal NLL

INLL :

intermediate NLL

VNLL :

ventral NLL

RF :

resting frequency of the echolocation sound

SFM :

sinusoidally frequency modulated

SOC :

superior olivary complex

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  1. Zoologisches Institut der Universität, Luisenstraße 14, D-8000, München 2, Federal Republic of Germany

    Walter Metzner & Susanne Radtke-Schuller

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  1. Walter Metzner
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  2. Susanne Radtke-Schuller
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Metzner, W., Radtke-Schuller, S. The nuclei of the lateral lemniscus in the rufous horseshoe bat,Rhinolophus rouxi . J. Comp. Physiol. 160, 395–411 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00613029

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