Position of an acoustic window in a beluga whale: Computation based on auditory evoked potential latencies.

In a beluga whale, the positions of sound receiving areas on the head surface were determined by comparing the acoustic delays from different sound source positions. For this investigation, auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) in response to short tone pips were recorded. Latencies of the first AEP wave that presumably reflected the activity of the auditory nerve were measured at different sound source azimuths. For AEPs of equal amplitudes, the difference in AEP latencies was attributed to the difference in the acoustic delays. These delay differences were used to compute the azimuths of sound receiving points. Measurements were conducted at frequencies from 22.5 to 90 kHz in half-octave steps. At all stimulus frequencies, the receiving points were located 24-38 cm caudal of the melon tip, which is near a proximal part of the lower jaw. Thus, the results indicated the latero-mandibular acoustic window. Possible causes for not finding a lateral or ventro-mandibular window are discussed.

Sharpening of the Signal Spectrum Contrast as a Result of Lateral Suppression in the Human Auditory System.

The spectrum contrast threshold for the comb-filtered signal was measured at various ripple densities in listeners with normal hearing. The lowest spectrum contrast thresholds of less than 0.1 appeared at a ripple density of 3-4 oct-1. With the ripple density falling down to 1 oct-1, the threshold increased to 0.17. At the ripple density higher than 4 oct-1, the threshold was also growing to achieve 1.0 at a density of 7-8 oct-1. An increase of threshold at high ripple densities can be explained by integration within critical bands. At low ripple densities, the threshold increase may be a result of the lateral suppression that led to sharpening of the spectral contrast.

Influence of the Background Noise on Recognition of Signals with a Complex Spectrum Structure in the Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas).

The frequency resolving power of hearing (FRP) of the beluga whale Delphinapterus leucas was studied as dependent on influence of lasting low-intensity sounds (of the ultrasonic range from -20 to +10 dB). Testing of the spectrum ripple-phase reversal was used in conjunction with a noninvasive recording of auditory evoked potentials. FRP parameters were found to depend nonmonotonically on the intensity of the background noise. The resultant adaptation effects can be explained by the fact that, in response to the high-intensity signals, the auditory system sensitivity is reduced to the level optimal for analysis of these signals.