Behavioral and electrophysiological assessment of hearing in the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)

Abstract

Presented are the behavioral audiogram and auditory brainstem response (ABR) recordings from the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). This study was particularly interested in the sensitivity of this species to infrasound (i.e., frequencies below 20 Hz). Previous histological research found that the basilar papilla of gallinaceous species tends to be specifically tuned to frequencies below 1 kHz. Consistent with this finding, previous behavioral tests of chickens demonstrated exceptional sensitivity to low-frequency sounds, especially infrasound. The results of this study show that the Japanese quail has a sensitivity to 16 Hz that is equivalent to that of humans, and thus their infrasound sensitivity is far less than that of the chicken. The ABR recordings did not match the sensitivity or frequency range of the behavioral audiogram, though they provided a reasonable estimate of the high-frequency limit of the animal’s hearing range and frequency of best sensitivity. These findings are consistent with histological evaluations of the inner-ear physiology of gallinaceous birds that suggest the low-frequency end of the Japanese quail’s hearing range is shifted slightly away from that of other birds of this order, though they would still possess good sensitivity below 1 kHz.