J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol
September 2020
The purpose of this study was to determine if the Japanese quail, a domesticated, gallinaceous bird, could detect infrasound. Behavioral thresholds were determined for three birds, two males and one female, ranging from 16 Hz to 8 kHz. The animals' hearing range, at a cutoff of 60 dB SPL (re 20 μN/m), covers 6.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Undergrad Neurosci Educ
December 2018
Presented is a lab exercise designed to augment an upper-level undergraduate class covering the topics of psychopharmacology, biopsychology, physiological psychology, or introductory neuroscience. The exercise was developed as a tool to allow students to investigate behavioral correlates of oral psychomotor stimulant ingestion and observe firsthand the benefits and challenges of using animal models to study behavior. The purpose of the exercise was to observe the unconditioned, natural behaviors of laboratory rats prior to, and following, the oral administration of commonly used, over-the-counter psychomotor stimulants, and for students to experience the process of neuroscience research.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol
November 2017
The pure-tone thresholds of three mallard ducks were determined from 16 Hz to 9 kHz. The purpose was to determine whether the mallard duck hears infrasound, which then may potentially be used for navigation, similar to how it is proposed that pigeons use it for homing. At a level of 60 dB sound pressure level (re 20 μN/m), their hearing range extends 6.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol
October 2014
The pure-tone thresholds of four domestic female chickens were determined from 2 Hz to 9 kHz using the method of conditioned suppression/avoidance. At a level of 60 dB sound pressure level (re 20 μN/m(2)), their hearing range extends from 9.1 Hz to 7.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough the domestic pigeon is commonly used in learning experiments, it is a notoriously difficult subject in auditory psychophysical experiments, even those in which it need only respond when it detects a sound. This is because pigeons tend to respond in the absence of sound-that is, they have a high false-positive rate-which makes it difficult to determine a pigeon's audiogram. However, false positives are easily controlled in the method of conditioned suppression/avoidance, in which a pigeon is trained to peck a key to obtain food and to stop pecking whenever it detects a sound that signals impending electric shock.
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