Peripheral auditory tuning for fine frequency analysis by the CF-FM bat,Rhinolophus ferrumequinum

Abstract

1. The cochlea of the horseshoe bat,Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, was frequency mapped by exposing for 30 min to one or two continuous pure tones of intensities between 70 and 110 dB SPL. The evaluation was made by differentiating between normal and swollen nuclei of the outer hair cells (OHC) of the organ of Corti and by measuring the diameter of the nuclei of the OHC. 2. In control animals the radial diameter of the OHC nuclei varies systematically from a mean of 2.85 μm at the base to 3.2 um at the apex (Fig. 1). 3. All frequencies used for exposure were normalized to the resting frequency (FR), which is the frequency of the pure tone component of the orientation sound in a non-flying bat. The individual FR lay between 82.6 and 83.3 kHz. 4. For analysing the small frequencies between 83.0 to 86.0 kHz in which relevant echoes occur, 3.15 mm length of the basilar membrane is used, about the same length as for the octaves from FR/4 to FR/2 (2.85 mm) and from FR/2 to FR (3.2 mm) (Fig. Ca, b). 5. The discontinuity of the mechanical data at 4.5 mm of the length of the basilar membrane (part I of this paper) coincides with FR and the less pronounced discontinuity at 7.8 mm coincides with FR/2. 6. Location and mechanism of the auditory filter are discussed.