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A good ear: Rats identify specific sounds in noisy environments
November 19, 2008A study conducted on hundreds of rats could help us understand how the brain identifies specific sounds in a noisy environment. The investigation, soon to be published in the journal Brain, was conducted by Alex Martin of the Université de Montréal Department of Psychology.
"Our ears have thousands of ciliated cells with different sensitivities," says Martin. "These cells identify the frequencies that make up a particular sound, but also the spectrum of different frequencies that blend together. That is why we can identify different instruments playing the same note."
For instance, during a concert, when the sound of the crowd mixes with several instruments, our brain can still identify the specific notes played by the trumpet, the violin or any other instrument in the orchestra. Still, Martin was curious to know the impact of background noise on the spatial sensitivity of auditory neurons.
Martin placed rats in a partially echo-free, sound-proof chamber and simultaneously played two types of sounds: Gaussian sound (containing all frequencies) of 25 decibels and a pure sound (made up of one frequency). He found that auditory neurons respond to a pure sound even if there is background noise.
Indeed, 71 percent of neurons don't change their response rate while 16 percent are excited by the sound and demonstrate increased sensitivity. Only 13 percent of neurons decreased their sensitivity in presence of background noise.
University of Montreal
Martin placed rats in a partially echo-free, sound-proof chamber and simultaneously played two types of sounds: Gaussian sound (containing all frequencies) of 25 decibels and a pure sound (made up of one frequency). He found that auditory neurons respond to a pure sound even if there is background noise.
Indeed, 71 percent of neurons don't change their response rate while 16 percent are excited by the sound and demonstrate increased sensitivity. Only 13 percent of neurons decreased their sensitivity in presence of background noise.
University of Montreal
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Lend me your ears -- and the world will sound very different
Recognising people, objects or animals by the sound they make is an important survival skill and something most of us take for granted. But very similar objects can physically make very dissimilar sounds and we are able to pick up subtle clues about the identity and source of the sound.
Nutrients might prevent hearing loss, new animal study suggests
Soldiers exposed to the deafening din of battle have little defense against hearing loss, and are often reluctant to wear protective gear like ear plugs that could make them less able to react to danger. But what if a nutritious daily "candy bar" could prevent much of that potential damage to their hearing?
Nature press release for 22 August issue
[1] LIFELINES: ANTHRAX DETECTOR AND KILLER IN ONE (pp884-889; N&V) Researchers in this week`s Nature reveal a new antibiotic that could foil bioterrorist`s attempts to engineer antibiotic-resistant strains. The same drug could serve as a rapid detector for anthrax spores. The strain of Bacillus anthracis used in last October`s US attacks could be killed with antibiotics penicillin and ciprofloxacin. But there is concern that bioterrorists might make new strains that are resistant to these and other antibiotics. Raymond Schuch and his colleagues at Rockefeller University in New York extracted a killer protein, called PlyG lysine, from a virus that naturally infects B. anthracis. Injections of
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