TY - JOUR
T1 - Sensorimotor Transformations Underlying Variability in Song Intensity during Drosophila Courtship
AU - Coen, Philip
AU - Xie, Marjorie
AU - Clemens, Jan
AU - Murthy, Mala
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2016/2/3
Y1 - 2016/2/3
N2 - Diverse animal species, from insects to humans, utilize acoustic signals for communication. Studies of the neural basis for song or speech production have focused almost exclusively on the generation of spectral and temporal patterns, but animals can also adjust acoustic signal intensity when communicating. For example, humans naturally regulate the loudness of speech in accord with a visual estimate of receiver distance. The underlying mechanisms for this ability remain uncharacterized in any system. Here, we show that Drosophila males modulate courtship song amplitude with female distance, and we investigate each stage of the sensorimotor transformation underlying this behavior, from the detection of particular visual stimulus features and the timescales of sensory processing to the modulation of neural and muscle activity that generates song. Our results demonstrate an unanticipated level of control in insect acoustic communication and uncover novel computations and mechanisms underlying the regulation of acoustic signal intensity.
AB - Diverse animal species, from insects to humans, utilize acoustic signals for communication. Studies of the neural basis for song or speech production have focused almost exclusively on the generation of spectral and temporal patterns, but animals can also adjust acoustic signal intensity when communicating. For example, humans naturally regulate the loudness of speech in accord with a visual estimate of receiver distance. The underlying mechanisms for this ability remain uncharacterized in any system. Here, we show that Drosophila males modulate courtship song amplitude with female distance, and we investigate each stage of the sensorimotor transformation underlying this behavior, from the detection of particular visual stimulus features and the timescales of sensory processing to the modulation of neural and muscle activity that generates song. Our results demonstrate an unanticipated level of control in insect acoustic communication and uncover novel computations and mechanisms underlying the regulation of acoustic signal intensity.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84957827312&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.12.035
DO - 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.12.035
M3 - Article
C2 - 26844835
AN - SCOPUS:84957827312
SN - 0896-6273
VL - 89
SP - 629
EP - 644
JO - Neuron
JF - Neuron
IS - 3
ER -