Using the auditory steady-state response to assess temporal dynamics of hearing sensitivity during bottlenose dolphin echolocation

J Acoust Soc Am. 2013 Nov;134(5):3913-7. doi: 10.1121/1.4823842.

Abstract

The auditory steady-state response (ASSR) to an external tone was measured in an echolocating dolphin to determine if hearing sensitivity changes could be tracked over time scales corresponding to single click-echo pairs. Individual epochs containing click-echo pairs were first extracted from the instantaneous electroencephalogram. Epochs were coherently averaged using the external tone modulation rate as a timing reference, then Fourier transformed using a sliding, 10-ms temporal window to obtain the ASSR amplitude as a function of time. The results revealed a decrease in the ASSR amplitude at the time of click emission, followed by a 25-70 ms recovery.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acoustic Stimulation
  • Animals
  • Auditory Threshold*
  • Bottle-Nosed Dolphin / physiology*
  • Bottle-Nosed Dolphin / psychology
  • Echolocation*
  • Electroencephalography
  • Fourier Analysis
  • Hearing*
  • Male
  • Recovery of Function
  • Sound Spectrography
  • Time Factors