Can ferrets use different sound localization cues? Sound localization relies upon a variety of different cues. For example, when a sound is located on one side of the head, it will be louder in one ear than the other (known as an Interaural Level Difference). It will also arrive earlier at one ear than the other (an Interaural Time Difference). Humans are sensitive to both of these cues, which can be demonstrated easily with earphones. Using earphones that can be worn by ferrets, this paper showed that ferrets are also sensitive to both of these cues, and are almost as sensitive to these cues as humans. This further confirms the ferret as an excellent species for understanding the neural basis of hearing in humans.
Keating P, Nodal FR, Gananandan K, Schulz AL, King AJ (2013b) Behavioral Sensitivity to Broadband Binaural Localization Cues in the Ferret. Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology : JARO 14:561-572.
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UCL Ear Institute 