Hearing and echolocation

• Human hearing
• Adaptations for hearing in bats
– Outer ear
– Middle ear
– Inner ear
– Auditory pathways
The human ear

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Human cochlea
Hair cell damage
Frequency
detection
in the
cochlea
 Hearing is tuned to echolocation: How?
CF bats FM bats
are tuned show broad
to dominant frequency
frequency sensitivity
 Ear pinna
amplifies
selected
frequencies
- Pinna acts as a horn
- Larger pinna transmit lower
frequencies better
- Wavelength of the resonant
frequency equals 4 x length
of the ear canal
 Middle ear adaptations

Tympanum:oval window area = 53:1 in Tadarida, 35:1 in a cat

Malleus:incus = 3-5:1 in bats, 1.5:1 in a cat
Ear tympanum speed

Faster at high
frequencies
because it is
much thinner
 Inner ear
(cochlea)
adaptations
Basilar membrane is
longer and thicker at
base

A basilar membrane
that is thicker at the
base increases
sensitivity to high
frequencies
Rhinolophus ferrumequinum
The auditory pathway
 Tonotopic map in the auditory system
Auditory cortex

Gray areas correspond to call Auditory cortex is expanded at

frequencies frequencies associated with
echolocation
 Open space

Tonotopic
representation
varies by
species Blood feeder Ground gleaner

Inferior colliculus
frequency maps
 Neuronal tuning in horseshoe bats

Q10 = best freq/ bandwidth at -10 dB

Pteronotus parnellii
 Information decoded from echos

Range
pulse-echo time delay
Velocity
pulse-echo frequency change
Target size
frequency of echo
Location
ear amplitude difference
Combination-sensitive neurons encode
range and velocity in CF bats
Cortical maps vary by species