My Comparative Bioacoustics Laboratory investigates acoustic communication in animals. We take a comparative approach, measuring hearing and vocalizations in a number of different animals, including birds and mice. We conduct psychoacoustic studies of hearing using operant conditioning techniques, we perform preference tests in naïve animals, and we record sonic and ultrasonic vocalizations from our subjects in various contexts. Current lines of investigation in the bird lab include sequential and simultaneous auditory stream segregation using simple and complex sounds, music perception, and human speech perception. Current lines of investigation in the mouse lab include simple measures of auditory processing such as time and intensity perception, the perception of ultrasonic vocalizations, the role of noise in masking of simple and complex signals, and the preference for certain vocalizations over others. As a whole, these studies are designed to describe a more complete and accurate picture of acoustic communication, a process vital for survival in these animals.
