Influence of Stimulus Intensity on Multimodal Integration in the Startle Escape System of Goldfish

McIntyre, Camille; Preuss, Thomas

doi:10.3389/fncir.2019.00007

Cited by 15 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 40 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These results clearly show that the addition of an extremely brief sound pip is enough to markedly shift the response distribution, effectively decreasing response time compared to visual only conditions (3,30). In addition, multisensory responses latencies are much less variable than their unimodal visual counterparts, instead of spreading during more than a second, most responses are locked to the occurrence of the auditory pip (31).…”

Section: Multisensory Integration Reduces Response Timementioning

confidence: 72%

Audiovisual integration in the Mauthner cell enhances escape probability and reduces response latency

Martorell

Medan

2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fast and accurate threat detection is critically important for animal survival. Reducing perceptual ambiguity by integrating multiple sources of sensory information can enhance threat detection and reduce response latency. However, studies showing a direct link between behavioral correlates of multisensory integration and its underlying neural basis are rare. In fish, an explosive escape behavior known as C-start is driven by an identified neural circuit centered on the Mauthner cell. The Mauthner cell can trigger C-starts in response to visual and auditory stimuli allowing to investigate how multisensory integration in a single neuron affects behavioral outcome after threat detection. Here we demonstrate that in goldfish visual looms and brief auditory stimuli can be integrated to increase C-start probability and that this enhancement is inversely correlated to the saliency of the cues with weaker auditory cues producing a proportionally stronger multisensory effect. We also show that multisensory stimuli reduce response latency locked to the presentation of the auditory cue. Finally, we make a direct link between behavioral data and its underlying neural mechanism by reproducing empirical data with an integrate-and-fire computational model of the Mauthner cell.

show abstract

Section: Multisensory Integration Reduces Response Timementioning

confidence: 72%

Audiovisual integration in the Mauthner cell enhances escape probability and reduces response latency

Martorell

Medan

2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Our results show that the decision to dive ( Figure 4A ) is sensitive to both visual and acoustic predator cues. Regardless of whether a single or multiple cues of one or more modalities are present ( Bhattacharyya et al 2017 ; McIntyre and Preuss 2019 ), cue inputs in fish converge at the level of Mauthner neurons (or segmental homologs). Above a threshold, stimulation results in a single action potential that is translated into motor action leading to a so-called fast-start response ( Domenici and Hale 2019 and references therein), which is essentially an all-or-nothing response.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, we chose to expose fish to general (opposed to species-specific) bird cues. Both the rapid expansion of an object (loom) as well as the use of computer-generated audio pips are established methods to reliably evoke antipredator responses in fishes (e.g., Bhattacharyya et al 2017 ; McIntyre and Preuss 2019 ). To maintain some ecological relevance, stimuli were modeled on the hunting behavior of familiar bird species (see Supplementary Material for a description of hunting styles).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acoustic and visual stimuli combined promote stronger responses to aerial predation in fish

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Bird predation poses a strong selection pressure on fish. Since birds must enter the water to catch fish, a combination of visual and mechano-acoustic cues (multimodal) characterize an immediate attack, while single cues (unimodal) may represent less dangerous disturbances. We investigated whether fish could use this information to distinguish between non-threatening and dangerous events and adjust their antipredator response to the perceived level of risk. To do so, we investigated the antipredator behavior of the sulphur molly (Poecilia sulphuraria), a small freshwater fish which is almost exclusively preyed on by piscivorous birds in its endemic sulfide spring habitat. In a field survey, we confirmed that these fish frequently have to distinguish between disturbances stemming from attacking birds (multimodal) and those which pose no (immediate) threat such as bird overflights (unimodal). In a laboratory experiment, we then exposed fish to artificial visual and/or acoustic stimuli presented separately or combined. Sensitivity was high regardless of stimulus type and number (more than 96% of fish initiated diving), but fish dove deeper, faster, and for longer when both stimuli were available simultaneously. Based on the system’s high rates of bird activity, we argue that such an unselective dive initiation with subsequent fine-tuning of diving parameters in accordance to cue modality represents an optimal strategy for these fish to save energy necessary to respond to future attacks. Ultimately, our study shows that fish anticipate the imminent risk posed by disturbances linked to bird predation through integrating information from both visual and acoustic cues.

show abstract

“…Although multimodal communication and perception has received increasing attention in recent years (Narins et al, 2003;Skals et al, 2005;Koppen and Spence, 2007;Diaconescu et al, 2011;Pluta et al, 2011;Taylor et al, 2011;Fetsch et al, 2013;Ben-Ari and Inbar, 2014;Cecere et al, 2015;Kayser and Shams, 2015;Parise and Ernst, 2016;Schumacher et al, 2016Schumacher et al, , 2017Halfwerk et al, 2019;McIntyre and Preuss, 2019;Mitoyen et al, 2019), multisensory perception should not only be interpreted in relation to information uncertainty but also in an adaptive framework, i.e. Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, as noise in one modality may be unrelated to the noise in another, sensory incongruity may arise when noise affects mainly one modality (De Gelder and Bertelson, 2003). Multisensory-based decisions taking into account uncertainty and congruency of sensory cues is thus a challenge that animals, including humans, must face to improve behavioural decisions (Ernst and Banks, 2002;Fetsch et al, 2013;McIntyre and Preuss, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of fighting ability in the vocal cichlid Metriaclima zebra in face of incongruent audiovisual information

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Information transfer between individuals typically depends on multiple sensory channels. Yet, how multi-sensory inputs shape adaptive behavioural decisions remains largely unexplored. We tested the relative importance of audio and visual sensory modalities in opponent size assessment in the vocal cichlid fish, Metriaclima zebra, by playing back mismatched agonistic sounds mimicking larger or smaller opponents during fights of size-matched males. Trials consisted in three 5-min periods: PRE (visual), PBK (acoustic+visual) and POST (visual). During PBK agonistic sounds of smaller (high frequency or low amplitude) or larger (low frequency or high amplitude) males were played back interactively. As a control, we used white noise and silence. We show that sound frequency but not amplitude affects aggression, indicating that spectral cues reliably signal fighting ability. In addition, males reacted to the contrasting audiovisual information by giving prevalence to the sensory channel signalling a larger opponent. Our results suggest that fish can compare the relevance of information provided by different sensory inputs to make behavioural decisions during fights, which ultimately contributes to their individual fitness. These findings have implications for our understanding of the role of multi-sensory inputs in shaping behavioural output during conflicts in vertebrates.

show abstract

Influence of Stimulus Intensity on Multimodal Integration in the Startle Escape System of Goldfish

Cited by 15 publications

References 40 publications

Audiovisual integration in the Mauthner cell enhances escape probability and reduces response latency

Audiovisual integration in the Mauthner cell enhances escape probability and reduces response latency

Acoustic and visual stimuli combined promote stronger responses to aerial predation in fish

Assessment of fighting ability in the vocal cichlid Metriaclima zebra in face of incongruent audiovisual information

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About