A comparative study of auditory localization

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityPLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you.Neuroanatomical work has shown that the auditory system is different in different mammals, with primates and bats representing two extremes in this regard. It has been suggested that these differences are related to auditory localization. The present work examined auditory localization in several representative mammalian speciesa squirrel monkey, bat {Phyllostomus hastatus), albino rat and cat. A semi-naturalistic localization situation was used. The animal was placed in a wire cage located in a sound-deadened room. Two loudspeakers were located one on either side of the cage. Two response lavers were located in the front wall of the cage, flanking a liquid food dispenser. When tone bursts were presented from one of the loudspeakers, a response on the "correct" lever resulted in the delivery of a small amount of food to the animal. The left-hand lever was correct when the tone bursts were from the left-hand loudspeaker, the right-hand lever was correct when the tone bursts were from the right-hand loudspeaker. The percentage of correct responses on both levers was the measure of performance on the discrimination under a given set of conditions. [TRUNCATED]2031-01-0