Abstract
BackgroundAnimal vocal signals encode very important information for communication during which the importance of temporal and spectral characteristics of vocalizations is always asymmetrical and species-specific. However, it is still unknown how auditory system represents this asymmetrical and species-specific patterns. In this study, auditory event related potential (ERP) changes were evaluated in the Emei music frog (Babina daunchina) to assess the differences in eliciting neural responses of both temporal and spectral features for the telencephalon, diencephalon and mesencephalon respectively. To do this, an acoustic playback experiment using an oddball paradigm design was conducted, in which an original advertisement call (OC), its spectral feature preserved version (SC) and temporal feature preserved version (TC) were used as deviant stimuli with synthesized white noise as standard stimulus.ResultsThe present results show that 1) compared with TC, more similar ERP components were evoked by OC and SC; and 2) the P3a amplitudes in the forebrain evoked by OC were significantly higher in males than in females.ConclusionsTogether, the results provide evidence for suggesting neural processing for conspecific vocalization may prefer to the spectral features in the music frog, prompting speculation that the spectral features may play more important roles in auditory object perception or vocal communication in this species. In addition, the neural processing for auditory perception is sexually dimorphic.
Highlights
Animal vocal signals encode very important information for communication during which the importance of temporal and spectral characteristics of vocalizations is always asymmetrical and species-specific
The present study showed that when the three deviant stimuli consisting of original advertisement call (OC), spectral feature preserved version (SC) and TC were presented 1) some differences did not reach statistical significance for the telencephalon, the N1 amplitude evoked by TC was significantly greater than those evoked by OC and SC, while the N1 amplitude evoked by OC was significant greater than that by SC; 2) the P2 amplitudes evoked by OC and SC were significantly
Greater than that by TC the difference between OC and TC did not reach statistical significance for the telencephalon; 3) the P3a amplitudes evoked by SC and TC were significantly higher than by OC the differences between TC and OC did not reach statistical significance for the diencephalon and mesencephalon; in addition, P3a amplitudes in the forebrain evoked by OC were significantly higher in males than in females
Summary
Animal vocal signals encode very important information for communication during which the importance of temporal and spectral characteristics of vocalizations is always asymmetrical and species-specific. It is still unknown how auditory system represents this asymmetrical and species-specific patterns. Frequency resolution and temporal resolution for acoustic signals are inversely related to one another, both at the species and individual level in songbirds [20], implying the spectral and temporal features may contribute differently in vocal communication or perception of auditory object, i.e. the fundamental perceptual unit in hearing [21, 22]. There is still much that remains unknown about how auditory system represents the differences between these two features
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