The ability to quickly recognize sounds, particularly the vocalizations made by other animals, is known to contribute to the survival of a wide range of species. This ability is supported by a process known as categorical perception, which entails the transformation of continuous auditory input (e.g., gradual changes in pitch or tone) into distinct categories (i.e., vocalizations that mean something specific).

Various past studies have tried to shed light on the neural underpinnings of categorical perception and the categorization of vocalizations. While they broadly identified some brain regions that could play a part in these abilities, the precise processes through which animals categorize their peer’s categorizations have not yet been fully elucidated.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University recently carried out a study investigating how vocalizations are represented in the brain of big brown bats, which are scientifically known as Eptesicus fuscus. Their findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, suggest that the categories of vocalizations are encoded in the bat midbrain.