TY  - JOUR
A1  - Hechavarria, Julio C.
A1  - Macias, Silvio
A1  - Vater, Marianne
A1  - Voss, Cornelia
A1  - Mora, Emanuel C.
A1  - Kossl, Manfred
T1  - Blurry topography for precise target-distance computations in the auditory cortex of echolocating bats
JF  - Nature Communications
N2  - Echolocating bats use the time from biosonar pulse emission to the arrival of echo (defined as echo delay) to calculate the space depth of targets. In the dorsal auditory cortex of several species, neurons that encode increasing echo delays are organized rostrocaudally in a topographic arrangement defined as chronotopy. Precise chronotopy could be important for precise target-distance computations. Here we show that in the cortex of three echolocating bat species (Pteronotus quadridens, Pteronotus parnellii and Carollia perspicillata), chronotopy is not precise but blurry. In all three species, neurons throughout the chronotopic map are driven by short echo delays that indicate the presence of close targets and the robustness of map organization depends on the parameter of the receptive field used to characterize neuronal tuning. The timing of cortical responses (latency and duration) provides a binding code that could be important for assembling acoustic scenes using echo delay information from objects with different space depths.
Y1  - 2013
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms3587
SN  - 2041-1723
VL  - 4
IS  - 10
PB  - Nature Publ. Group
CY  - London
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kössl, Manfred
A1  - Hechavarria, Julio
A1  - Voss, Cornelia
A1  - Schaefer, Markus
A1  - Vater, Marianne
T1  - Bat auditory cortex - model for general mammalian auditory computation or special design solution for active time perception?
JF  - European journal of neuroscience
N2  - Audition in bats serves passive orientation, alerting functions and communication as it does in other vertebrates. In addition, bats have evolved echolocation for orientation and prey detection and capture. This put a selective pressure on the auditory system in regard to echolocation-relevant temporal computation and frequency analysis. The present review attempts to evaluate in which respect the processing modules of bat auditory cortex (AC) are a model for typical mammalian AC function or are designed for echolocation-unique purposes. We conclude that, while cortical area arrangement and cortical frequency processing does not deviate greatly from that of other mammals, the echo delay time-sensitive dorsal cortex regions contain special designs for very powerful time perception. Different bat species have either a unique chronotopic cortex topography or a distributed salt-and-pepper representation of echo delay. The two designs seem to enable similar behavioural performance.
KW  - chronotopy
KW  - echolocation
KW  - fovea
KW  - salt-and-pepper
KW  - target range
Y1  - 2015
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.12801
SN  - 0953-816X
SN  - 1460-9568
VL  - 41
IS  - 5
SP  - 518
EP  - 532
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kössl, Manfred
A1  - Voss, Cornelia
A1  - Mora, Emanuel C.
A1  - Macias, Silvio
A1  - Föller, Elisabeth
A1  - Vater, Marianne
T1  - Auditory cortex of newborn bats is prewired for echolocation
JF  - Nature Communications
N2  - Neuronal computation of object distance from echo delay is an essential task that echolocating bats must master for spatial orientation and the capture of prey. In the dorsal auditory cortex of bats, neurons specifically respond to combinations of short frequency-modulated components of emitted call and delayed echo. These delay-tuned neurons are thought to serve in target range calculation. It is unknown whether neuronal correlates of active space perception are established by experience-dependent plasticity or by innate mechanisms. Here we demonstrate that in the first postnatal week, before onset of echolocation and flight, dorsal auditory cortex already contains functional circuits that calculate distance from the temporal separation of a simulated pulse and echo. This innate cortical implementation of a purely computational processing mechanism for sonar ranging should enhance survival of juvenile bats when they first engage in active echolocation behaviour and flight.
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1782
SN  - 2041-1723
VL  - 3
IS  - 2
PB  - Nature Publ. Group
CY  - London
ER  -