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An HRP-study of the frequency-place map of the horseshoe bat cochlea: Morphological correlates of the sharp tuning to a narrow frequency band

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Summary

The frequency-place map of the horseshoe bat cochlea was studied with the horseradish peroxidase (HRP) technique involving focal injections into various, physiologically defined regions of cochlear nucleus (CN). The locations of labeled spiral ganglion cells and their termination sites on inner hair cells of the organ of Corti from injections into CN-regions responsive to different frequencies were analyzed in three dimensional reconstructions of the cochlea. Horseshoe bats from different geographical populations were investigated. They emit orientation calls with constant frequency (CF) components around 77 kHz (Rhinolophus rouxi from Ceylon) and 84 kHz (Rhinolophus rouxi from India) and their auditory systems are sharply tuned to the respective CF-components.

The HRP-map shows that in both populations: (i) the frequency range around the CF-component of the echolocation signal is processed in the second half-turn of the cochlea, where basilar membrane (BM) is not thickened, secondary spiral lamina (LSS) is still present and innervation density is maximal; (ii) frequencies more than 5 kHz above the CF-component are processed in the first halfturn, where the thickened BM is accompanied by LSS and innervation density is low; (iii) frequencies below the spectral content of the orientation call are represented in apical turns showing no morphological specializations. The data demonstrate that the cochlea of horseshoe bats is normalized to the frequency of the individual specific CF-component of the echolocation call.

The HRP-map can account for the overrepresentation of neurons sharply tuned to the CF-signal found in the central auditory system. A comparison of the HRP-map with a map derived with the ‘swollen nuclei technique’ following loud sound exposure (Bruns 1976b) reveals that the latter is shifted towards cochlear base by about 4 mm. This discrepancy warrants a new interpretation of the functional role of specialized morphological structures of the cochlea within the mechanisms giving rise to the exceptionally high frequency selectivity of the auditory system.

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Abbreviations

AVCN :

anteroventral CN

BF :

best frequency

BM :

basilar membrane

CF :

constant frequency

CN :

cochlear nucleus

DCN :

dorsal CN

FM :

frequency modulated

HRP :

horseradish peroxidase

IHC :

inner hair cell

LSS :

secondary spiral lamina

OHC :

outer hair cell

PVCN :

posteroventral CN

RF :

resting frequency

RRc :

Rhinolophus rouxi from Ceylon

RRi :

Rhinolophus rouxi from India

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoologisches Institut, Luisenstrasse 14, D-8000, München 2, Federal Republic of Germany

    M. Vater & M. Betz

  2. Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Illinois, 524 Burrill Hall, 407 South Goodwin Avenue, 61801, Urbana, Illinois, USA

    A. S. Feng

Authors
  1. M. Vater
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  2. A. S. Feng
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  3. M. Betz
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Vater, M., Feng, A.S. & Betz, M. An HRP-study of the frequency-place map of the horseshoe bat cochlea: Morphological correlates of the sharp tuning to a narrow frequency band. J. Comp. Physiol. 157, 671–686 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01351361

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