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Selective phonotaxis to high sound-pulse rate in the cricket Gryllus assimilis

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Abstract

Calling song of the cricket Gryllus assimilis is unusual among Gryllus spp. in the high sound-pulse rate, ca. 80 Hz, within its chirps. We asked whether, as in other cricket species, females were able to analyze such a high pulse rate. In phonotaxis experiments, females failed to respond to stimuli with pulse rates substantially higher or lower than the species-typical value, demonstrating that they are indeed selective for this parameter. We also examined how pulse rate was represented by modulation in firing rate of the neuron AN1, the main carrier of information about cricket-song-like stimuli to the brain. For attractive stimuli, i.e. with high pulse rates, modulation of AN1 firing rate through time was surprisingly modest. This suggests that the brain circuits that analyze AN1 spike trains might be more sensitive to slight variations in AN1 firing rate than their counterparts in more slowly singing species.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a Discovery Grant to GSP from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. We thank A. Zera for providing cricket eggs, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. These experiments conformed to all guidelines for animal experimentation set by the Canadian Council on Animal Care and by McGill University.

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Correspondence to Gerald S. Pollack.

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Pollack, G.S., Kim, J.S. Selective phonotaxis to high sound-pulse rate in the cricket Gryllus assimilis . J Comp Physiol A 199, 285–293 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-013-0792-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-013-0792-z

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