Neuronal Mechanisms Underlying Control of Sound Production in a Cricket: Acheta Domesticus

1965 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-153
Author(s):  
ARTHUR EWING ◽  
GRAHAM HOYLE
Keyword(s):  
Sound Production ◽  
Acheta Domesticus ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Neuronal Control ◽  
Neuronal Mechanisms ◽  
Freely Moving ◽  
Cricket Song ◽  
Opening And Closing ◽  
Sound Pulses ◽  
Longitudinal Muscles

1. The singing of the cricket Acheta domesticus has been studied with a view to examining the neuronal control mechanisms underlying the sound production. 2. Electrical activity was recorded from the muscles responsible for wing opening and closing during singing in intact, freely-moving crickets. 3. Three kinds of song which are both structurally distinct and clearly different in behavioural context were studied in detail: calling, aggression and courtship. 4. Each song is composed of a group of pulses of sound and each pulse corresponds to a single wing-closing movement. The songs differ only in regard to either the number of pulses in a group, or the loudness of the pulses. 5. The opening is caused by the tergosternal muscles receiving a brief burst of excitatory nerve impulses. Extra impulses, leading to extra wide opening, occur before loud sounds. 6. The closing movement is initiated by the first and second basalar and subalar muscles acting synergistically. The force, but not the velocity, of the closing stroke is increased by a late burst of activity in the indirectly acting dorsal longitudinal muscles, leading to louder sound. 7. Weak pulses are the result of (probably) only S axons firing. When F axons fire in addition loud sounds result. 8. During courtship songs the sound pulses are mainly weak and a large number of pulses occur consecutively. 9. The kind of neuronal machinery required to produce the observed output is considered theoretically, and a tentative simple scheme proposed. 10. It is not necessary to postulate separate neuronal centres for each sound, and a small number of neurons could, in principle, provide the underlying control of the different kinds of cricket song.

Body Temperature and Singing in the Bladder Cicada, Cystosoma Saundersii

1979 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. K. JOSEPHSON ◽  
D. YOUNG
Keyword(s):  
Heat Production ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Sound Production ◽  
Marked Decrease ◽  
Cooling Curve ◽  
Muscle Twitch ◽  
Temperature Excess ◽  
Air Mixing ◽  
Artificial Heat ◽  
Sound Pulses

1. Body temperatures during singing were measured in the cicada, Cystosoma saundersii Westwood, both in the field and in tethered animals indoors. 2. The temperature of the sound-producing tymbal muscle rises rapidly during singing to reach a plateau approximately 12°C above ambient. This produces a temperature gradient in the abdominal air sac which surrounds the muscle. When singing stops, the tymbal muscle cools exponentially. 3. Heat production during singing, estimated from the cooling curve, is 4.82 cal min−1 g muscle−1. Generation of the same temperature excess in the air sac by an artificial heat source yields an estimated heat production of 54.4 cal min−1 g muscle−1. This discrepancy may be caused by air mixing in the air sac during singing. 4. As temperature rises, tymbal muscle twitch contractions become faster and stronger. This and heat transfer to the thorax cause changes in the song pattern: a marked decrease in the interval between the two sound pulses produced by a single tymbal buckling and a lesser decrease in the interval between bucklings. The fundamental sound period remains unaltered. These effects are consistent with earlier data on sound production. Note: Present address: Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, California 92717, U.S.A.

scholarly journals Neuronal Control of Esophageal Peristalsis and Its Role in Esophageal Disease

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Nikaki ◽  
A. Sawada ◽  
A. Ustaoglu ◽  
D. Sifrim
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Smooth Muscles ◽  
Circular Muscle ◽  
Esophageal Disease ◽  
Esophageal Peristalsis ◽  
High Resolution Manometry ◽  
Neuronal Control ◽  
Neuronal Mechanisms ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
Contraction And Relaxation

Abstract Purpose of Review Esophageal peristalsis is a highly sophisticated function that involves the coordinated contraction and relaxation of striated and smooth muscles in a cephalocaudal fashion, under the control of central and peripheral neuronal mechanisms and a number of neurotransmitters. Esophageal peristalsis is determined by the balance of the intrinsic excitatory cholinergic, inhibitory nitrergic and post-inhibitory rebound excitatory output to the esophageal musculature. Recent Findings Dissociation of the longitudinal and circular muscle contractions characterizes different major esophageal disorders and leads to esophageal symptoms. Provocative testing during esophageal high-resolution manometry is commonly employed to assess esophageal body peristaltic reserve and underpin clinical diagnosis. Summary Herein, we summarize the main factors that determine esophageal peristalsis and examine their role in major and minor esophageal motility disorders and eosinophilic esophagitis.

scholarly journals Recording of “sonic attacks” on U.S. diplomats in Cuba spectrally matches the echoing call of a Caribbean cricket

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander L. Stubbs ◽  
Fernando Montealegre-Z
Keyword(s):  
Sound Production ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Medical Evidence ◽  
Cognitive Difficulties ◽  
Acoustic Signature ◽  
Rigorous Research ◽  
Pulse Structure ◽  
Sound Pulses ◽  
The U.S

Beginning in late 2016, diplomats posted to the United States embassy in Cuba began to experience unexplained health problems—including ear pain, tinnitus, vertigo, and cognitive difficulties1–4—which reportedly began after they heard1,2 strange noises in their homes or hotel rooms. In response, the U.S. government dramatically reduced1–3 the number of diplomats posted at the U.S. embassy in Havana. U.S. officials initially believed1,2,5 a sonic attack might be responsible for their ailments. The sound linked to these attacks, which has been described as a “high-pitched beam of sound”, was recorded by U.S. personnel in Cuba and released by the Associated Press (AP). Because these recordings are the only available non-medical evidence of the sonic attacks, much attention has focused on identifying health problems6–11 and the origin12–17 of the acoustic signal. As shown here, the calling song of the Indies short-tailed cricket (Anurogryllus celerinictus) matches, in nuanced detail, the AP recording in duration, pulse repetition rate, power spectrum, pulse rate stability, and oscillations per pulse. The AP recording also exhibits frequency decay in individual pulses, a distinct acoustic signature of cricket sound production. While the temporal pulse structure in the recording is unlike any natural insect source, when the cricket call is played on a loudspeaker and recorded indoors, the interaction of reflected sound pulses yields a sound virtually indistinguishable from the AP sample. This provides strong evidence that an echoing cricket call, rather than a sonic attack or other technological device, is responsible for the sound in the released recording. Although the causes of the health problems reported by embassy personnel are beyond the scope of this paper, our findings highlight the need for more rigorous research into the source of these ailments, including the potential psychogenic effects, as well as possible physiological explanations unrelated to sonic attacks.

Sound radiation by the bladder cicada cystosoma saundersii

1998 ◽  
Vol 201 (5) ◽  
pp. 701-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Bennet-Clark ◽  
D Young
Keyword(s):  
Resonant Frequency ◽  
Sound Production ◽  
Ventral Surface ◽  
Major Elements ◽  
Sound Pulse ◽  
Resonant System ◽  
Song Frequency ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Quality Factor Q ◽  
Sound Pulses

Male Cystosoma saundersii have a distended thin-walled abdomen which is driven by the paired tymbals during sound production. The insect extends the abdomen from a rest length of 32-34 mm to a length of 39-42 mm while singing. This is accomplished through specialised apodemes at the anterior ends of abdominal segments 4-7, which cause each of these intersegmental membranes to unfold by approximately 2 mm. <P> The calling song frequency is approximately 850 Hz. The song pulses have a bimodal envelope and a duration of approximately 25 ms; they are produced by the asynchronous but overlapping action of the paired tymbals. The quality factor Q of the decay of the song pulses is approximately 17. <P> The abdomen was driven experimentally by an internal sound source attached to a hole in the front of the abdomen. This allowed the sound-radiating regions to be mapped. The loudest sound-radiating areas are on both sides of tergites 3-5, approximately 10 mm from the ventral surface. A subsidiary sound-radiating region is found mid-ventrally on sternites 4-6. Sound is radiated in the same phase from all these regions. As the abdomen was extended experimentally from its resting length to its maximum length, the amplitude of the radiated sound doubled and the Q of the resonance increased from 4 to 9. This resonance and effect are similar at both tergite 4 and sternite 5. <P> Increasing the effective volume of the abdominal air sac reduced its resonant frequency. The resonant frequency was proportional to 1/(check)(total volume), suggesting that the air sac volume was the major compliant element in the resonant system. Increasing the mass of tergite 4 and sternites 4-6 also reduced the resonant frequency of the abdomen. By extrapolation, it was shown that the effective mass of tergites 3-5 was between 13 and 30 mg and that the resonant frequency was proportional to 1/(check)(total mass), suggesting that the masses of the tergal sound-radiating areas were major elements in the resonant system. <P> The tymbal ribs buckle in sequence from posterior (rib 1) to anterior, producing a series of sound pulses. The frequency of the pulse decreases with the buckling of successive ribs: rib 1 produces approximately 1050 Hz, rib 2 approximately 870 Hz and rib 3 approximately 830 Hz. The sound pulse produced as the tymbal buckles outwards is between 1.6 and 1.9 kHz. Simultaneous recordings from close to the tymbal and from tergite 4 suggest that the song pulse is initiated by the pulses produced by ribs 2 and 3 of the leading tymbal and sustained by the pulses from ribs 2 and 3 of the second tymbal. <P> An earlier model suggested that the reactive elements of the abdominal resonance were the compliance of the abdominal air sac volume and the mass of the abdomen undergoing lengthwise telescoping. The present work confirms these suggestions for the role of the air sac but ascribes the mass element to the in-out vibrations of the lateral regions of tergites 3-5 and the central part of sternites 4-6.

Performance and Losses Analysis for Radial Turbine Featuring a Multi-Channel Casing Design

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Farid Hassan ◽  
Markus Schatz ◽  
Damian M. Vogt
Keyword(s):  
Internal Flow ◽  
Turbine Rotor ◽  
Control Technique ◽  
Operating Efficiency ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Turbine Performance ◽  
Performance Reduction ◽  
Partial Admission ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics Cfd ◽  
Opening And Closing

Abstract A novel control technique for radial turbines is under investigation for providing turbine performance controllability, especially in turbocharger applications. This technique is based on replacing the traditional spiral casing with a Multi-channel Casing (MC). The MC divides the turbine rotor inlet circumferentially into a certain number of channels. Opening and closing these channels controls the inlet area and, consequently, the turbine performance. The MC can be distinguished from other available control techniques in that it contains no movable parts or complicated control mechanisms. Within the casing, this difference makes it practical for a broader range of applications. In this investigation, a turbocharger featuring a turbine with MC has been tested on a hot gas test stand. The experimental test results show a reduction in the turbine operating efficiency when switching from full to partial admission. This reduction increases when reducing the admission percentage. To ensure the best performance of the turbine featuring MC while operating at different admission configurations, it becomes crucial to investigate its internal flow field at both full and partial admission to understand the reasons for this performance reduction. A full 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model of the turbine was created for this investigation. It focuses on identifying the loss mechanisms associated with partial admission. Steady and unsteady simulations were performed and validated with available test data. The simulation results show that operating the turbine at partial admission results in highly disturbed flow. It also detects the places where aerodynamic losses occur and which are responsible for this performance reduction. This operation also shows flow unsteadiness even when operating at steady conditions. This unsteadiness depends mainly on the admission configuration and percentage.

Dynamics of Cricket Sound Production

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vamsy Godthi ◽  
Rudra Pratap
Keyword(s):  
Natural Frequency ◽  
Sound Production ◽  
Microelectromechanical Systems ◽  
Beat Frequency ◽  
Impulsive Loading ◽  
Frequency Multiplier ◽  
Fe Model ◽  
Song Frequency ◽  
Cricket Song ◽  
Impulse Train

The clever designs of natural transducers are a great source of inspiration for man-made systems. At small length scales, there are many transducers in nature that we are now beginning to understand and learn from. Here, we present an example of such a transducer that is used by field crickets to produce their characteristic song. This transducer uses two distinct components—a file of discrete teeth and a plectrum that engages intermittently to produce a series of impulses forming the loading, and an approximately triangular membrane, called the harp, that acts as a resonator and vibrates in response to the impulse-train loading. The file-and-plectrum act as a frequency multiplier taking the low wing beat frequency as the input and converting it into an impulse-train of sufficiently high frequency close to the resonant frequency of the harp. The forced vibration response results in beats producing the characteristic sound of the cricket song. With careful measurements of the harp geometry and experimental measurements of its mechanical properties (Young's modulus determined from nanoindentation tests), we construct a finite element (FE) model of the harp and carry out modal analysis to determine its natural frequency. We fine tune the model with appropriate elastic boundary conditions to match the natural frequency of the harp of a particular species—Gryllus bimaculatus. We model impulsive loading based on a loading scheme reported in literature and predict the transient response of the harp. We show that the harp indeed produces beats and its frequency content matches closely that of the recorded song. Subsequently, we use our FE model to show that the natural design is quite robust to perturbations in the file. The characteristic song frequency produced is unaffected by variations in the spacing of file-teeth and even by larger gaps. Based on the understanding of how this natural transducer works, one can design and fabricate efficient microscale acoustic devices such as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) loudspeakers.

scholarly journals Wing, tail, and vocal contributions to the complex acoustic signals of courting Calliope hummingbirds

2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher James Clark
Keyword(s):  
Sound Production ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Acoustic Signals ◽  
Wingbeat Frequency ◽  
Physical Mechanisms ◽  
Frequency Tone ◽  
Single Mechanism ◽  
Sound Pulses ◽  
Stellula Calliope ◽  
Courtship Displays

Abstract Multi-component signals contain multiple signal parts expressed in the same physical modality. One way to identify individual components is if they are produced by different physical mechanisms. Here, I studied the mechanisms generating acoustic signals in the courtship displays of the Calliope hummingbird Stellula calliope. Display dives consisted of three synchronized sound elements, a high-frequency tone (hft), a low frequency tone (lft), and atonal sound pulses (asp), which were then followed by a frequency-modulated fall. Manipulating any of the rectrices (tail-feathers) of wild males impaired production of the lft and asp but not the hft or fall, which are apparently vocal. I tested the sound production capabilities of the rectrices in a wind tunnel. Single rectrices could generate the lft but not the asp, whereas multiple rectrices tested together produced sounds similar to the asp when they fluttered and collided with their neighbors percussively, representing a previously unknown mechanism of sound production. During the shuttle display, a trill is generated by the wings during pulses in which the wingbeat frequency is elevated to 95 Hz, 40% higher than the typical hovering wingbeat frequency. The Calliope hummingbird courtship displays include sounds produced by three independent mechanisms, and thus include a minimum of three acoustic signal components. These acoustic mechanisms have different constraints and thus potentially contain different messages. Producing multiple acoustic signals via multiple mechanisms may be a way to escape the constraints present in any single mechanism.

WIRELESS TRANSMISSION OF MUSCLE POTENTIALS DURING FREE FLIGHT OF A LOCUST

1993 ◽  
Vol 185 (1) ◽  
pp. 367-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Kutsch ◽  
G. Schwarz ◽  
H. Fischer ◽  
H. Kautz
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Data Acquisition ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Wireless Transmission ◽  
Free Flight ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Flexible Electrodes ◽  
Neuronal Control ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Freely Moving

Scientists have long been interested in recording data from freely moving animals. For larger animals, several telemetric techniques are available not only for following the movement of unrestrained animals in the wild (White and Garrott, 1990) but also for transmitting measures of heartbeat, body temperature, wingbeat, respiration, etc. (e.g. Lord et al. 1962; Butler and Woakes, 1980; Funk et al. 1993; for an overview, see Amlaner and Macdonald, 1980). Because of the size of such transmission devices, however, data acquisition has been restricted to larger animals. The development of lightweight batteries and microchips has only recently facilitated efforts to transmit data from smaller animals such as insects. Such data should greatly enhance our understanding of the processes involved in the neuronal control of unrestricted behaviour. Eventually it should be possible to monitor the activity of individual units (neurones, muscles) under closed-loop conditions, which closely resemble free movement. It is to be expected that this new approach will surpass previous studies involving intact but surface-bound animals implanted with long flexible electrodes (for crickets, see Kutsch, 1969) or animals tethered in a windstream (for improvement of the flight balance device, compare Weis-Fogh, 1956, with Dombrowsky, 1991). Increased freedom has been achieved in experiments on ‘free flight’ of large insects (Mohl, 1988; Stolley, 1990), although even these animals were restricted to a short or stationary flight handicapped by several implanted flexible electrodes.

Anatomy, neurophysiology, and pharmacological control mechanisms of the bladder

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna Daly ◽  
Christopher Chapple
Keyword(s):  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Bladder Contraction ◽  
Pressure Storage ◽  
Filling Phase ◽  
Complex Integration ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
Opening And Closing ◽  
And Storage ◽  
Pharmacological Control ◽  
Lower Urinary

The lower urinary tract has two main functions; the collection and low pressure storage of urine and periodical controlled elimination of urine at an appropriate time. In order to achieve continence during bladder filling and storage and produce efficient and effective bladder emptying, there is accurate coordination between opening and closing of the urethral sphincters and contraction of the detrusor smooth muscle. The process of micturition has two phases: the storage/filling phase and the voiding phase. The analogy for the transition between these two phases has been described as an on-off circuit, rather akin to flicking a light switch, between synchronous bladder contraction and urethral outlet relaxation, and vice versa. These phases are regulated by a complex, integration of somatic and autonomic efferent and afferent mechanisms that coordinate the activity of the bladder and urethra. This chapter provides an overview of our current understanding of these complex mechanisms.

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