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Auditory stream segregation in an insect

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Abstract

Auditory stream segregation is the perceptual grouping of the acoustic mixture reaching the ear into coherent representations of sound sources. It has been described in a variety of vertebrates and underlies auditory scene analysis or auditory image formation. Here we describe a phenomenon in an invertebrate that bears an intriguing resemblance to auditory stream segregation observed in vertebrates: in Neoconocephalus retusus (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae) an auditory interneuron segregates information about bat echolocation calls from background male advertisement songs. This process utilizes differences between the temporal and spectral characteristics of the two stimuli, a mechanism which is similar to those of auditory stream segregation in vertebrates. This similarity suggests that auditory stream segregation is a fundamental feature of auditory perception, widespread from invertebrates to humans.

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Acknowledgments

We thank M. A. Bee, S. L. Bush, R. B. Cocroft and one anonymous reviewer for valuable comments on the manuscript. J.S. wants to thank Franz Huber for support, encouragement and inspiration. The project was supported by NSF grant IBN-0324290 to J.S. and a LS-UROP fellowship to R.A.S.

Dedicated to Franz Huber on the occasion of his 80th birthday.

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