Research Article

Cross-modal facilitation of auditory discrimination in a frog

Published: 2022-6

Journal: Biology Letters

DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0098

Abstract

Stimulation in one sensory modality can affect perception in a separate modality, resulting in diverse effects including illusions in humans. This can also result in cross-modal facilitation, a process where sensory performance in one modality is improved by stimulation in another modality. For instance, a simple sound can improve performance in a visual task in both humans and cats. However, the range of contexts and underlying mechanisms that evoke such facilitation effects remain poorly understood. Here, we demonstrated cross-modal stimulation in wild-caught túngara frogs, a species with well-studied acoustic preferences in females. We first identified that a combined visual and seismic cue (vocal sac movement and water ripple) was behaviourally relevant for females choosing between two courtship calls in a phonotaxis assay. We then found that this combined cross-modal stimulus rescued a species-typical acoustic preference in the presence of background noise that otherwise abolished the preference. These results highlight how cross-modal stimulation can prime attention in receivers to improve performance during decision-making. With this, we provide the foundation for future work uncovering the processes and conditions that promote cross-modal facilitation effects.

Faculty Members

  • Logan S. James - Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USASmithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of Panama
  • Kimberly L. Hunter - Department of Biological Sciences, Salisbury University, 1101 Camden Ave, Salisbury, MD 21801, USA
  • Rachel A. Page - Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of Panama
  • Michael J. Ryan - Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USASmithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of Panama
  • Ryan C. Taylor - Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of PanamaDepartment of Biological Sciences, Salisbury University, 1101 Camden Ave, Salisbury, MD 21801, USA
  • Paul Clements - Henson School of Technology, Salisbury University, 1101 Camden Ave, Salisbury, MD 21801, USA
  • A. Leonie Baier - Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USASmithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of Panama

Themes

  • Multi-sensory processing
  • Decision-making
  • Behavioral relevance in animals
  • Sensory perception
  • Cross-modal stimulation

Categories

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