Auditory cortex of newborn bats is prewired for echolocation

Manfred Kössl, Cornelia Voss (), Emanuel C. Mora, Silvio Macias, Elisabeth Foeller and Marianne Vater
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Manfred Kössl: Institute for Cell Biology and Neuroscience, University of Frankfurt
Cornelia Voss: Institute for Cell Biology and Neuroscience, University of Frankfurt
Emanuel C. Mora: University of Havana
Silvio Macias: University of Havana
Elisabeth Foeller: Institute for Cell Biology and Neuroscience, University of Frankfurt
Marianne Vater: Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam

Nature Communications, 2012, vol. 3, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Neuronal computation of object distance from echo delay is an essential task that echolocating bats must master for spatial orientation and the capture of prey. In the dorsal auditory cortex of bats, neurons specifically respond to combinations of short frequency-modulated components of emitted call and delayed echo. These delay-tuned neurons are thought to serve in target range calculation. It is unknown whether neuronal correlates of active space perception are established by experience-dependent plasticity or by innate mechanisms. Here we demonstrate that in the first postnatal week, before onset of echolocation and flight, dorsal auditory cortex already contains functional circuits that calculate distance from the temporal separation of a simulated pulse and echo. This innate cortical implementation of a purely computational processing mechanism for sonar ranging should enhance survival of juvenile bats when they first engage in active echolocation behaviour and flight.

Date: 2012
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1782

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