Non-invasive Auditory Brainstem Responses to FM Sweeps in Awake Big Brown Bats

Overview

Journal J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol

Publisher Springer

Specialties Neurology
Social Sciences

Date 2022 Jun 27

PMID 35761119

Authors

Andrea Megela Simmons

Amaro Tuninetti

Brandon M Yeoh

James A Simmons

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

We introduce two EEG techniques, one based on conventional monopolar electrodes and one based on a novel tripolar electrode, to record for the first time auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) from the scalp of unanesthetized, unrestrained big brown bats. Stimuli were frequency-modulated (FM) sweeps varying in sweep direction, sweep duration, and harmonic structure. As expected from previous invasive ABR recordings, upward-sweeping FM signals evoked larger amplitude responses (peak-to-trough amplitude in the latency range of 3-5 ms post-stimulus onset) than downward-sweeping FM signals. Scalp-recorded responses displayed amplitude-latency trading effects as expected from invasive recordings. These two findings validate the reliability of our noninvasive recording techniques. The feasibility of recording noninvasively in unanesthetized, unrestrained bats will energize future research uncovering electrophysiological signatures of perceptual and cognitive processing of biosonar signals in these animals, and allows for better comparison with ABR data from echolocating cetaceans, where invasive experiments are heavily restricted.

Citing Articles

Bats experience age-related hearing loss (presbycusis).

Tarnovsky Y, Taiber S, Nissan Y, Boonman A, Assaf Y, Wilkinson G Life Sci Alliance. 2023; 6(6).

PMID: 36997281 PMC: 10067528. DOI: 10.26508/lsa.202201847.

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