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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 102/3/1348    most recent 91276.2008v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Triblehorn, J. D. Articles by Schul, J. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Triblehorn, J. D. Articles by Schul, J.

Sensory-Encoding Differences Contribute to Species-Specific Call Recognition Mechanisms

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri

Submitted 1 December 2008; accepted in final form 30 June 2009

Abstract

Object recognition is a fundamental function of the auditory system, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Acoustic communication in the Tettigoniid genus Neoconocephalus provides a useful system for studying these mechanisms. We examined the ascending interneuron pathway in three Neoconocephalus species with diverse calls and recognition mechanisms. This pathway processes spectral information and transmits call temporal patterns to the supraesophageal ganglion where the recognition circuits reside. For each species, we describe one local auditory interneuron (ON) and three with ascending projections (AN-1, AN-2, TN-1), which were physiologically and morphologically similar to those described in other Tettigoniids. TN-1 responded only to the beginning of call models. For AN-1, each call model pulse elicited a single action potential in N. robustus and N. bivocatus, whereas every other pulse elicited an action potential in N. triops. Individual pulses did not reliably evoke AN-2 responses in all three species. AN-1 responses were limited to frequencies <20 kHz. AN-1 tuning differed among the three species, reflecting their differences in the dominant frequency of the calls. AN-2 was broadly tuned, and responses increased with intensity in all three species. In behavioral experiments, N. robustus showed greater spectral selectivity than the other two species. Adding the second harmonic to the spectrum of call models suppressed phonotaxis in N. robustus, but not N. triops or N. bivocatus. Adding the second harmonic reduced AN-1 responses in N. robustus but not in the other two species. We discuss the potential function of the ascending neurons for call recognition.