Bats Zoom Through the Night Sky with the Help of Spatial Location

Bats zoom through the night sky with the help of echolocation. Now, scientists have taken a closer look at spatial orientation in bats in order to find out exactly how they manage to navigate their dark world.

In this latest study, the researchers examined the spatial map representing different echo delays in the brains of bats. When a bat flies too close to an object, the number of activated neurons in its brain increases. As a result, the object appears disproportionately larger in the bat's brain map than objects at a safe distance, as if it were magnified. The bats also constantly adapt their flight maneuvers to their surroundings in order to avoid collisions with buildings, trees or other animals.

"The map is similar to the navigation systems used in cars in that it shows bats the terrain in which they are moving," said Uwe Firzlaff, one of the researchers, in a news release. "The major difference, however, is that the bats' inbuilt system warns them of an impending collision by enhancing neuronal signals for objects that are in close proximity."

That's not all that the researchers found. In addition to the echo reflection time, bats process the reflection angle of echoes. They also compare the sound volume of their calls with those of the reflected sound waves and then measure the wave spectrum of the echo.

"Our research has led us to conclude that bats display much more spatial information on their acoustic maps than just echo reflection," said Firzlaff. "We may have just uncovered one of the fundamental mechanisms that enable vertebrates to adapt flexibly to continuously changing environments.

The findings reveal a bit more about the spatial maps in bat brains and show that the nerve cells there interpret bats' rapid responses to external stimuli by enlarging the active area in the brain to display important information.

The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.