Dr. Chantif Alexandros Alampounti 

Hearing is one of the most complex senses in the animal kingdom and is impressive for its unique biophysical properties. One such property is the presence of self-sustained oscillations (SSOs) where the ear produces a sound of its own. Although SSOs in humans are used as a diagnostic tool for determining the health of the ear, their role and importance in hearing are poorly understood. Mosquitoes have recently emerged as a remarkable candidate for auditory research on multiple fronts (fundamental auditory neuroscience, disease prevention, and behavioral studies) especially as they are the only known invertebrate where SSOs are not only naturally occurring but thought to be crucial to their mating behavior, which relies primarily on sound. Interestingly, male mosquitoes cannot hear the female buzz but can instead hear a lower frequency concert of tones called distortion products (DP). These tones emerge naturally when both the male’s and female’s buzz are played together. Surprisingly, the strength of these SSOs appear to vastly transform the tones that the mosquito can perceive, acting as both an amplifier for relevant tones and a suppressor of unnecessary tones. Our findings show the male auditory system distinguishes between pure tones and DPs, with DPs being 10 times more sensitive. These findings open an exciting path to modelling (also human) hearing by linking SSOs and DPs to hearing, and hearing loss, potentially inspiring new generations of DP-based hearing.