Audibility of the cricket, acheta domesticus, obtained from auditory evoked potentials.

Abstract

For crickets, auditory and vibratory communication is important in reproductive behavior, agonistic interactions, detection of predators, and acoustic orientation in the environment. In the cricket, the forelegs house the specialized tibial organs that comprise the tympanal structures. Much of the information regarding the auditory sensitivity of the receptors of the foreleg is the result of study of individual receptor cells. The whole receptor population of the tympanal organ covers the frequency range from at least 2000 k–70 kHz. Little information is available on the neuronal and physiological properties of the brain to acoustic signals. The purpose of this study was to record auditory evoked potentials on the surface of the cricket brain, Acheta domesticus. Electrodes were placed onto the brain of crickets and signals were amplified and averaged over the range 100 ms. Sinusoidal stimuli covered a range between 4 and 48 kHz. Waveform morphology and input‐output curves for the cricket will be shown.