To address this broad question, my laboratory uses electrophysiological, anatomical, behavioral, and computational modeling methods to study spatial hearing in the barn owl, a nocturnal predator that can hunt solely by means of auditory cues. Not only is the barn owl a good auditory predator, but its midbrain contains a retina-like map of auditory space. The neurons that compose this map have spatial receptive fields, like visual neurons, and are arrayed topographically so that each neuron represents some point in auditory space. Using this auditory space map, my lab has been analyzing the auditory system's ability to resolve and image the sounds from a particular source in the presence of echoes and other competing sounds. Representation of multiple sound-sources in the owl's auditory space map.
Simulated motion enhances neuronal selectivity for a sound-localization cue.
Selectivity for interaural time difference in the owl's midbrain. Time and intensity cues are processed independently in the auditory system of the owl.