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email:  pnarins@ucla.edu
phone:  (310) 825-0265
office:  LSB 4835
lab:  LSB 4832

research interests:  Auditory Behavior, Neurophysiology and Mechanics

Research Interests

My research focuses on the question of how animals extract relevant sounds from the often highly noisy backgrounds in which they live. The techniques I use are the quantitative analysis of vocal behavior of animals in their natural habitats, followed by single fiber neurophysiological recordings in order to elucidate mechanisms underlying signal processing in noise. A second research direction is based on the discovery of the remarkable sensitivity to substrate vibrations possessed by burrowing animals. We are now characterizing and providing accurate measurements of vibrational thresholds as well as exploring the differences between substrate-vibration and airborne sound at the cellular level. Other projects carried out by our group have included an investigation of the neurophysiological basis of sound localization in noisy environments, a study of the temperature-dependence of the representation of time in the vertebrate auditory system, the biophysics of sound localization and the evolution of the middle ear reflex in vertebrates. Current projects include using laser Doppler vibrometry to elucidate the sound pathways relevant for stimulation of both the middle and inner ear in small vertebrates, and using whole-cell voltage clamp techniques to carry out an anatomical and physiological study of the mechanisms underlying transduction in vertebrate sensory hair cells. In addition, we supplement the lab work with direct behavioral observations and controlled acoustic playback studies carried out with animals in their natural habitats. These have included both Old and New World lowland wet tropical forests, African deserts and temperate forests in South America.

Selected Publications

Arch, V.S., Grafe, T.U. and Narins, P.M.. 2008. Ultrasonic signaling by a Bornean frog Biol. Letters 4: 19-22 .

Feng, A.S. and Narins, P.M.. 2008. Ultrasonic communication in concave-eared torrent frogs (Amolops tormotus) J. Comp. Physiol 194: 159-167 .

Shen, J.-X., Feng, A.S., Xu, Z.-M., Yu, Z.-L., Arch, V.S., Yu, X.-J. and Narins, P.M.. 2008. Ultrasonic frogs show hyperacuity phonotaxis to female's courtship calls Nature 453: 914-916 .

Farahbakhsh, N.A. and Narins, P.M.. 2008. Slow motility in hair cells of the frog amphibian papilla: Myosin-II mediated shape change Hear Res 241: 7-17 .

Gridi-Papp, M., Feng, A.S., Shen, J.-X., Yu. Z.-L. and Narins, P.M.. 2008. Active control of ultrasonic hearing in frogs PNAS 105: 11013-11018 .

Willi, U.B., Bronner, G.N. and Narins, P.M.. 2006. Ossicular differntiation of airborne and seismic stimuli in the Cape golden mole (Chrysochloris asiatica) J. Comp. Physiol 192: 267-277 .

Feng, A.S., Narins, P.M., Xu, C.-H., Lin, W.-Y., Yu, Z.-L., Qiu, Q., Xu, Z.-M. and Shen, J.-X.. 2006. Ultrasonic communication in frogs Nature 440: 333-336 .

Narins, P.M., Feng, A.S., Fay, R.R., Popper, A.N.. 2006. Hearing and Sound Communication in Amphibians Nature Springer-VerlagHeidelberg .

Suthers, R.A., Narins, P.M., Lin, W., Schnitzler, H.-U., Denzinger, A., Xu, C.-H. and Feng, A.S.. 2006. Voices of the dead: Complex nonlinear vocal signals from the larynx of an ultrasonic frog J. Exp. Biol 209: 4984-4993 .

Meenderink, S.W.F. and Narins, P.M.. 2006. Suppression of distortion product otoacoustic emissions in the anuran basilar papilla J. Acoust. Soc. Am 121: 344-351 .