Gerhardt H Carl, Bee Mark A, Christensen-Dalsgaard Jakob
Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, 1479 Gortner Ave, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA.
J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2023 Jan;209(1):115-129. doi: 10.1007/s00359-022-01576-9. Epub 2022 Oct 6.
Albert Feng pioneered the study of neuroethology of sound localization in anurans by combining behavioral experiments on phonotaxis with detailed investigations of neural processing of sound direction from the periphery to the central nervous system. The main advantage of these studies is that many species of female frogs readily perform phonotaxis towards loudspeakers emitting the species-specific advertisement call. Behavioral studies using synthetic calls can identify which parameters are important for phonotaxis and also quantify localization accuracy. Feng was the first to investigate binaural processing using single-unit recordings in the first two auditory nuclei in the central auditory pathway and later investigated the directional properties of auditory nerve fibers with free-field stimulation. These studies showed not only that the frog ear is inherently directional by virtue of acoustical coupling or crosstalk between the two eardrums, but also confirmed that there are extratympanic pathways that affect directionality in the low-frequency region of the frog's hearing range. Feng's recordings in the midbrain also showed that directional information is enhanced by cross-midline inhibition. An important contribution toward the end of his career involved his participation in neuroethological research with a team of scientists working with frogs that produce ultrasonic calls.
阿尔伯特·冯通过将趋声行为实验与从外周到中枢神经系统的声音方向神经处理的详细研究相结合，开创了无尾目动物声音定位的神经行为学研究。这些研究的主要优势在于，许多种类的雌蛙很容易对发出特定物种求偶鸣叫的扬声器表现出趋声行为。使用合成叫声的行为研究可以确定哪些参数对趋声行为很重要，还能量化定位精度。冯是第一个在前两个中枢听觉通路听觉核中使用单神经元记录来研究双耳处理的人，后来又通过自由场刺激研究了听神经纤维的方向特性。这些研究不仅表明蛙耳由于两个鼓膜之间的声学耦合或串扰而天生具有方向性，还证实存在影响蛙听力范围低频区域方向性的鼓膜外通路。冯在中脑的记录还表明，方向信息通过中线交叉抑制得到增强。在他职业生涯后期的一项重要贡献是，他与一组研究发出超声波叫声青蛙的科学家团队一起参与了神经行为学研究。
