A double-stimulus paradigm for investigating adaptation in the barn owl (Tyto alba): behavior and neurophysiology

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event A double-stimulus paradigm for investigating adaptation in the barn owl (Tyto alba): behavior and neurophysiology Hermann Wagner1*, Sandra Brill1, Lutz Kettler1, Roland Ferger1 and Martin Singheiser1 1 RWTH Aachen University, Zoology, Germany During hunting barn owls listen to sounds as for example generated by rustling mice. The birds typically do not attack upon hearing the first sound, but wait for a second sound. This situation was mimicked with a double-stimulus paradigm. It was tested behaviorally whether and how a first or reference sound influenced the head turning of the birds towards a second sound or probe. Preliminary data indicate a reduction in the number of head turns compared with a situation where only the probe was presented. In the same line, response latency tended to be higher in the former than in the later situation. In a second approach neurons in the barn owl’s inferior colliculus were examined with a similar paradigm. The responses to the probe were significantly reduced when reference sound and probe had the same level and the inter-stimulus interval was short. This indicated response adaptation, which could be compensated for by an increase of the probe level over the reference level. These results indicated that auditory-midbrain neurons show dynamic coding properties to double-stimulation that reflect some aspect of the barn owl’s behavior. Keywords: adaptation, barn owl, Behavior, interaural time difference, neurphysiology, Sound Localization Conference: Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology, College Park. Maryland USA, United States, 5 Aug - 10 Aug, 2012. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation (see alternatives below as well) Topic: Sensory: Audition Citation: Wagner H, Brill S, Kettler L, Ferger R and Singheiser M (2012). A double-stimulus paradigm for investigating adaptation in the barn owl (Tyto alba): behavior and neurophysiology. Conference Abstract: Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnbeh.2012.27.00104 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 24 Apr 2012; Published Online: 07 Jul 2012. * Correspondence: Prof. Hermann Wagner, RWTH Aachen University, Zoology, Aachen, D-52074, Germany, wagner@bio2.rwth-aachen.de Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Hermann Wagner Sandra Brill Lutz Kettler Roland Ferger Martin Singheiser Google Hermann Wagner Sandra Brill Lutz Kettler Roland Ferger Martin Singheiser Google Scholar Hermann Wagner Sandra Brill Lutz Kettler Roland Ferger Martin Singheiser PubMed Hermann Wagner Sandra Brill Lutz Kettler Roland Ferger Martin Singheiser Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.