The Neural Basis of Echolocation in Bats

George D. Pollak

ISBN 10: 364283664X / ISBN 13: 9783642836640

Published by Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2011

About this Item

Druck auf Anfrage Neuware - Printed after ordering - The brain of an echo locating bat is devoted, in large part, to analyzing sound and conducting behavior in a world of sounds and echoes. This monograph is about analysis of sound in the brainstem of echolocating bats and concerns the relationship between brain structure and brain function. Echolocating bats are unique subjects for the study of such relationships. Like man, echolocating bats emit sounds just for the purpose of listening to them. Simply by observing the bat's echolocation sounds, we know what the bat listens to in nature. We therefore have a good idea what the bat's auditory brain is designed to do. But this alone does not make the bat unique. The brain of the bat is, by mammalian standards, rather primitive. The unique aspect is the combination of primitive characteristics and complex auditory processing. Within this small brain the auditory structures are hypertrophied and have an elegance of organization not seen in other mammals. It is as if the auditory pathways had evolved while the rest of the brain remained evolutionary quiescent.

Seller Inventory # 9783642836640

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Neural Basis of Echolocation in Bats
• Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 364283664X
• ISBN 13: 9783642836640
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Illustrator: Covey, Ellen
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 244W x 170H x 9D millimeters 244 millimeters width by 170 millimeters height by 9 millimeters depth
• Weight: 282 grams

About this title

Synopsis

The brain of an echo locating bat is devoted, in large part, to analyzing sound and conducting behavior in a world of sounds and echoes. This monograph is about analysis of sound in the brainstem of echolocating bats and concerns the relationship between brain structure and brain function. Echolocating bats are unique subjects for the study of such relationships. Like man, echolocating bats emit sounds just for the purpose of listening to them. Simply by observing the bat's echolocation sounds, we know what the bat listens to in nature. We therefore have a good idea what the bat's auditory brain is designed to do. But this alone does not make the bat unique. The brain of the bat is, by mammalian standards, rather primitive. The unique aspect is the combination of primitive characteristics and complex auditory processing. Within this small brain the auditory structures are hypertrophied and have an elegance of organization not seen in other mammals. It is as if the auditory pathways had evolved while the rest of the brain remained evolutionary quiescent.