This volume presents the proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on "Advances in Vertebrate Neuroethology" held at the University of Kassel, Federal Republic of Germany in August 1981. During the last decade much progress has been made in understanding the neurophysiological bases of behavior in both vertebrates and invertebrates. The reason for this is that a number of new physiological, anatomical, and histochemical techniques have recently been developed for brain research which can now be combined with ethological methods for the analysis of animal behavior to form a new field of research known as "Neuroethology". The term Neuroethology was originally introduced by S.L.Brown and R.W.Hunsperger (1963) in connection with studies on the activation of agonistic behaviors by electrical brain stimulation in cats. Neuroethology was more closely defined by G.Hoyle (1970) in the context of a review on cellular mechanisms underlying behavior of invertebrates. Since the 6th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience held in Toronto in 1976, Neuroethology has become established as a session topic.

Inhalt

Sensory processing of key stimuli.- Sensorimotor interfacing.- State dependent responses.- Section I - Implications for Neuroethology.- Some ethological implications for neuroethology: The ontogeny of birdsong.- Implications for neuroethology from comparative neurophysiology.- Neuroanatomical implications for neuroethology.- Implications of insect neuroethology for studies on vertebrates.- Section II - Neural Prerequisites of Signal Localization.- Nasal chemical senses in snakes.- Brain mechanisms of visual localization by frogs and toads.- Localization of acoustic signals in the owl.- Localization with biosonar signals in bats.- Mechanisms of selective attention in mammals.- Seminar Contributions.- The functional organization of neuromasts in the lateral-line system of a cichlid fish.- Effect of signal orientation on the firing of electrosensory cells in the electric fish Eigenmannia.- Picking a route: Do toads follow rules or make plans?.- Frog prey capture behavior: Between sensory maps and directed motor output.- Visuomotor organization of pecking in the pigeon.- Specialization of visual function for different retinal areas i n the pigeon.- Localization, orienting responses, and attention in the golden hamster.- Section III - Neural Bases of Signal Identification.- Visual central processes in fish behavior.- Neuroethological analysis of the innate releasing mechanism for prey-catching behavior in toads.- Lateralization of emotional and cognitive function in higher vertebrates, with special reference to the domestic chick.- Information storage in the brain: A study of imprinting in the domestic chick.- Neural mechanisms underlying the visual analysis of faces.- Seminar Contributions.- Neural basis of visual pattern recognition in fish.- Neuronal correlates of partner recognition in newts.- Influence of the optic tectum and prosencephalic structures on visually controlled prey-catching and avoidance behaviors in the fire salamander.- Relationships between the responses of visual units, EEGs and slow potential shifts in the optic tectum of the toad.- A telemetry system for single unit recording in the freely moving toad (Bufo bufo L.).- Snapping in toads: Some aspects of sensorimotor i nterfacing and motor pattern generati on.- Is the Mauthner cell a vertebrate command neuron? A neuroethological perspective on an evolving concept.- The neural basis of perceptual equivalence of visual stimuli in the cat.- Visual properties of peri geniculate neurons in the cat.- A cerebral asymmetry in olfactory control of social huddling by infant hamsters.- Section IV - Neural Bases of Intraspecific Communication.- The Jamming Avoidance Response in an electric fish: Algorithms in sensory information processing and their neuronal organization.- Neurobehavioral correlates of sound communication in anurans.- Acoustic communication in the Guinea fowl (Numida meleagris).- Analysis of song in the auditory pathway of song birds.- Adaptations for the detection of fluttering insects by echolocation in horseshoe bats.- Representation of biosonar information in the auditory cortex of the mustached bat, with emphasis on representation of target velocity information.- Seminar Contributions.- Neuroethology of species recognition in electroreception.- Neuroethological studies on intraspecific call discrimination in the grass frog.- Responses of torus semicircularis cells of the Coqui treefrog to FM sinusoids.- Auditory response properties of the anuran thalamus: Nonlinear facilitation.- Receptive fields of auditory neurons in the frog's midbrain as functional elements for acoustic communication.- Auditory processing and perception of ultrasounds in house mice.- Inhibition of auditory neurons during phonation: Evidence of feed-forward mechanisms in brain processes controlling audio-vocal behavior?.- Cochleotopic organization of the mustache bat's inferior colliculus.- Section V - Central Control of Motivation.- The analysis of behavioral networks.- Neural correlates of motivated behavior in fish.- Regulation of reptilian reproductive behavior.- The neuroethology of reproduction.- Neurophysiological processing related to feeding in the monkey.- Control of vocal aggression in squirrel monkeys.- Seminar Contributions.- On the central dopaminergic mechanisms for motion and emoti on.- The medial preoptic area serves as a monitor of testosterone, not an integrative area, to influence urine marking and male sexual behavior.- Neural controls of energy homeostasis caudal to the forebrain.- Central and autonomic aspects of aggression and dominance in reptiles.- Neuroethology of defense.- A neuroethological study of sexual and predatory aggression in the domestic cat.- Methodological aspects of tele-stimulation in primates.- Symposium Participants.- Author Index.- Species Index.