Responses of Auditory Units in the Medulla of the Cricket Frog

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Abstract
Responses to acoustic stimuli were recorded with metal microelectrodes from single units in the medullae of DIAL-anesthetized cricket frogs (Acris crepitans and A. gryllus). In every animal, two disjoint regions of frequency sensitivity were found. Units of one type were most sensitive between 250 and 1000 cps. Thresholds for these units at their frequencies of maximum sensitivity ranged from 44 to 81 dB SPL (sound-pressure level). Within this population were units that were also sensitive to vibrational stimuli. Units of the other type were most sensitive between 3500 and 3800 cps. Thresholds for these units ranged from 73 to 99 dB SPL. The frequency sensitivities of the two types of units are well matched to the spectral distribution of energy in the cricket frog's mating call. Although units of both types were found close together in the medulla, we were unable to find any evidence of interaction between them. Within each population, a wide variety of adaptation rates was found, ranging from very slowly adapting units to ON units that responded only to the beginning of a stimulus.

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