Finneran James J, Houser Dorian S
U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, San Diego, Code 2351, 53560 Hull Street, San Diego, California 92152, USA.
J Acoust Soc Am. 2006 May;119(5 Pt 1):3181-92. doi: 10.1121/1.2180208.
Traditional behavioral techniques for hearing assessment in marine mammals are limited by the time and access required to train subjects. Electrophysiological methods, where passive electrodes are used to measure auditory evoked potentials (AEPs), are attractive alternatives to behavioral techniques; however, there have been few attempts to compare AEP and behavioral results for the same subject. In this study, behavioral and AEP hearing thresholds were compared in four bottlenose dolphins. AEP thresholds were measured in-air using a piezoelectric sound projector embedded in a suction cup to deliver amplitude modulated tones to the dolphin through the lower jaw. Evoked potentials were recorded noninvasively using surface electrodes. Adaptive procedures allowed AEP hearing thresholds to be estimated from 10 to 150 kHz in a single ear in about 45 min. Behavioral thresholds were measured in a quiet pool and in San Diego Bay. AEP and behavioral threshold estimates agreed closely as to the upper cutoff frequency beyond which thresholds increased sharply. AEP thresholds were strongly correlated with pool behavioral thresholds across the range of hearing; differences between AEP and pool behavioral thresholds increased with threshold magnitude and ranged from 0 to + 18 dB.
用于海洋哺乳动物听力评估的传统行为技术受到训练对象所需时间和条件的限制。电生理方法是使用无源电极测量听觉诱发电位（AEP），是行为技术颇具吸引力的替代方法；然而，很少有人尝试比较同一对象的AEP和行为测试结果。在本研究中，对四只宽吻海豚的行为和AEP听力阈值进行了比较。使用嵌入吸盘的压电式声音发射器在空气中测量AEP阈值，通过下颌向海豚传递调幅音。使用表面电极无创记录诱发电位。自适应程序可在约45分钟内估计单耳在10至150千赫范围内的AEP听力阈值。行为阈值在安静的水池和圣地亚哥湾进行测量。在阈值急剧上升的上限截止频率方面，AEP和行为阈值估计结果非常一致。在整个听力范围内，AEP阈值与水池行为阈值密切相关；AEP与水池行为阈值之间的差异随阈值大小增加，范围为0至 + 18分贝。
