The mechanism for directional hearing in fish

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Veith, Johannes; Chaigne, Thomas; Svanidze, Ana; Dressler, Lena Elisa; Hoffmann, Maximilian; Gerhardt, Ben; Judkewitz, Benjamin
• 署名单位: Free University of Berlin; Humboldt University of Berlin; Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin; Humboldt University of Berlin; Aix-Marseille Universite; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Leibniz Institut fur Evolutions und Biodiversitatsforschung; Rockefeller University
• 刊物名称: Nature
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0028-4390
• DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07507-9
• 发表日期: 2024-07-04
• 关键词: sound-source localization; acoustic particle motion; plainfin midshipman fish; cod gadus-morhua; lateral-line; response properties; auditory-system; goldfish; DISCRIMINATION; field

摘要

Locating sound sources such as prey or predators is critical for survival in many vertebrates. Terrestrial vertebrates locate sources by measuring the time delay and intensity difference of sound pressure at each ear 1-5 . Underwater, however, the physics of sound makes interaural cues very small, suggesting that directional hearing in fish should be nearly impossible 6 . Yet, directional hearing has been confirmed behaviourally, although the mechanisms have remained unknown for decades. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain this remarkable ability, including the possibility that fish evolved an extreme sensitivity to minute interaural differences or that fish might compare sound pressure with particle motion signals 7,8 . However, experimental challenges have long hindered a definitive explanation. Here we empirically test these models in the transparent teleost Danionella cerebrum, one of the smallest vertebrates 9,10 . By selectively controlling pressure and particle motion, we dissect the sensory algorithm underlying directional acoustic startles. We find that both cues are indispensable for this behaviour and that their relative phase controls its direction. Using micro-computed tomography and optical vibrometry, we further show that D. cerebrum has the sensory structures to implement this mechanism. D. cerebrum shares these structures with more than 15% of living vertebrate species, suggesting a widespread mechanism for inferring sound direction. A study demonstrates that the fish Danionella cerebrum is able to discriminate the direction of sound by comparing the relative phase of pressure and particle motion.