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Abstract
In the mustached bat's central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICC), many neurons
display facilitatory or inhibitory responses when presented with two tones of distinctly
different frequencies. Our previous studies have focused on spectral interactions
between specific frequency bands contained in the bat's sonar vocalization. In this
study, we describe excitatory and facilitatory frequency response areas across all
frequencies in the mustached bat's audible range. We show that many neurons in the
ICC have more extensive frequency interactions than previously documented. We recorded
responses of 96 single units to single tones and combinations of two tones. Best frequencies
of the units ranged from 59-15 kHz. Forty-one units had a single, excitatory frequency
response area. The rest of the units had more complex frequency tuning that included
multiple excitatory frequency response areas and facilitatory frequency response areas.
Some of the facilitatory frequency interactions were between one sound with energy
in a sonar frequency band and a second sound with energy in a non-sonar frequency
band. We also found that neurons could be facilitated by more than one additional
frequency band. Our findings of extensive frequency interactions in the ICC of the
mustached bat suggest that some neurons may be well suited for the analysis of complex
sounds, possibly including social communication sounds.