What is it about?
"Social brain networks," such as the default mode network, of bats have not been studied due to a lack of brain imaging studies in these animals. Our brain imaging study found connections between the bat's version of the default mode network and the parts of the cerebral cortex that process sound. These connections are stronger and more widespread for sound processing areas on the left side of the bat's brain than on the right side.
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Why is it important?
Bats represent ~20% of all mammalian species. They live very close together in large colonies and are very "talkative." Their brains have relatively large social, emotional, and sound processing areas. Their hearing is so high frequency that they cannot hear the loud, noxious sounds of MRI scanners. This makes them ideal for MRI-based brain imaging studies, especially studies of audition and social processing. There is also previous evidence that bats use the left sides (more than the right sides) of their brains to hear other bats "talk." The links between the bat version of the social brain (default mode) network and left auditory cortex suggests that the left auditory cortex has a greater role in socialization than the right auditory cortex. Similarities between mammalian brains suggests that these results are highly comparable to humans, who also known to preferentially use their left auditory cortices to process speech and language.
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This page is a summary of: Auditory cortical regions show resting-state functional connectivity with the default mode-like network in echolocating bats, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, June 2024, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2306029121.
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