Neurons in the bat auditory cortex encode class and complexity of future vocalizations
Susanne S. Babl, Dennis Röhrig, Julio C. Hechavarría · 2026
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Description
Susanne S Babl and colleagues report a 2026 brain study in bats on calls that have not yet been made. Bats call to echolocate, finding their way by echoes, and to talk with each other. The team asked whether hearing areas of the brain help shape those calls in advance.
They recorded single nerve cells in the hearing cortex of a small fruit bat. Distinct firing patterns arose hundreds of milliseconds before each call began. The patterns coded whether the coming call was for echolocation or for social contact. They also coded how many syllables the social call would hold. A cell's pitch tuning shaped its pattern. Hearing areas, it seems, help plan vocal output.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Susanne S. Babl, Dennis Röhrig, Julio C. Hechavarría |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 69 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |