Comparative study of sound localization and its anatomical correlates in mammals.
One of the fundamental features of hearing is the ability to localize the sources of sounds, particularly brief sounds, which may warn of nearby animals. Yet not all mammals localize sound equally well with threshold acuity ranging from about 1 degree for elephants and humans to more than 25 degrees for gerbils and horses and a near absence of localization in some subterranean species. During the past decade evidence has accumulated that this variation cannot be accounted for simply by the availability of the physical cues for locus. Nor does it appear to be a function of an animal's lifestyle. Rather sound-localization acuity in mammals appears to be a function of the precision required of the visual orienting response to sound. Thus the neural integration of hearing and vision in cortex, as well as in multimodal subcortical structures, is a reflection of their behavioral integration and evolutionary coupling.
Heffner
R S
RS
Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, OH 43606, USA. RHeffner@AOL.com
D000818:Animals; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology; D013017:Sound Localization / Q000502:physiology*; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology