| Abstract: | The effect of unilateral and bilateral destruction of the inferior colliculus on the sensitivity of the auditory system, on parameters of the sonor signals, and on Doppler shift compensation in echo signals was studied in experiments on horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus ferrum-equinum). The results show that complete bilateral destruction of the inferior colliculus in bats does not lead to total disturbance of function of the auditory system but it sharply reduces the sensitivity of that system, as shown by a decrease in the maximal obstacle detection range and inability to respond to an insect emitting a feeble sound. It can also be concluded that the inferior colliculus plays a direct part in maintenance of the emission frequency and that different parts of the inferior colliculus play different roles in this process. The Doppler shift compensation effect requires preservation of the integrity of not less than half of the central nucleus of at least one inferior colliculus.A. A. Ukhtomskii Physiological Institute, A. A. Zhdanov State University, Leningrad. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 375–381, July–August, 1980. |
