Summary and Conclusions

Abstract

Perhaps the major point of the monograph is that the processes seen in the bat’s auditory system, whether structural or functional, follow the general mammalian scheme. Our fundamental premise is that even though evolution is a plastic process, it conserves the basic plan, so that all mammalian auditory systems have a common groundplan and employ similar mechanisms. In certain animals, evolution has led to extremely enhanced capacities, such as echolocation in bats. The neural structures associated with this capacity are likewise enhanced. In some cases the enhancement of the neural structures is so pronounced that they yield advantages for experimental analysis.