Masked auditory thresholds in three species of birds, as measured by the auditory brainstem response (L)

J Acoust Soc Am. 2011 Jun;129(6):3445-8. doi: 10.1121/1.3578452.

Abstract

Auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) were recorded in adult budgerigars, canaries, and zebra finches in quiet and in three levels of white noise for tone stimuli between 1 and 4 kHz. Similar to behavioral results, masked ABR thresholds increased linearly with increasing noise levels. When the three species are considered together, ABR-derived CRs were higher than behavioral CRs by 18-23 dB between 2 and 4 kHz and by about 30 dB at 1 kHz. This study clarifies the utility of using ABRs for estimating masked auditory thresholds in natural environmental noises in species that cannot be tested behaviorally.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Acoustic Stimulation
  • Animals
  • Audiometry, Pure-Tone
  • Auditory Pathways / physiology*
  • Auditory Threshold*
  • Birds / physiology*
  • Canaries / physiology
  • Environment
  • Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem*
  • Finches / physiology
  • Melopsittacus / physiology
  • Noise / adverse effects*
  • Perceptual Masking*
  • Sound Spectrography