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. 2023 Jan;46(1):5-7.
doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2022.09.008. Epub 2022 Oct 22.

Neural coding of 3D spatial location, orientation, and action selection in echolocating bats

Angeles Salles  1 , Melville J Wohlgemuth  2 , Cynthia F Moss  3
Affiliations

Neural coding of 3D spatial location, orientation, and action selection in echolocating bats

Angeles Salles et al. Trends Neurosci. 2023 Jan.

Abstract

Echolocating bats are among the only mammals capable of powered flight, and they rely on active sensing to find food and steer around obstacles in 3D environments. These natural behaviors depend on neural circuits that support 3D auditory localization, audio-motor integration, navigation, and flight control, which are modulated by spatial attention and action selection.

Keywords: 3D spatial representation; auditory localization; flight control; sensorimotor integration; sonar ranging; tactile sensing.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests in relation to this work.

Figures

Figure 1 –
Figure 1 –. Neural specializations support natural behaviors of echolocating bats.
Schematic depicting auditory processing of natural sounds, audio-motor integration, navigation, and flight control, which are modulated by spatial attention and action selection in echolocating bats. Bat photo courtesy of Charles Francis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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