Understanding the neurophysiological basis of auditory abilities for social communication: A perspective on the value of ethological paradigms

•Processing communication sounds depends on general auditory abilities.•Advantages to ethological paradigms to study general auditory abilities.•Neuroethology has elucidated higher-order processing and nonlinear sensitivity.•Neuroethology can help elucidate categorization of naturally variable calls.•To test vocalization specialization, must study call-to-behavior transformations.

Acoustic communication between animals requires them to detect, discriminate, and categorize conspecific or heterospecific vocalizations in their natural environment. Laboratory studies of the auditory-processing abilities that facilitate these tasks have typically employed a broad range of acoustic stimuli, ranging from natural sounds like vocalizations to “artificial” sounds like pure tones and noise bursts. However, even when using vocalizations, laboratory studies often test abilities like categorization in relatively artificial contexts. Consequently, it is not clear whether neural and behavioral correlates of these tasks (1) reflect extensive operant training, which drives plastic changes in auditory pathways, or (2) the innate capacity of the animal and its auditory system. Here, we review a number of recent studies, which suggest that adopting more ethological paradigms utilizing natural communication contexts are scientifically important for elucidating how the auditory system normally processes and learns communication sounds. Additionally, since learning the meaning of communication sounds generally involves social interactions that engage neuromodulatory systems differently than laboratory-based conditioning paradigms, we argue that scientists need to pursue more ethological approaches to more fully inform our understanding of how the auditory system is engaged during acoustic communication.This article is part of a Special Issue entitled “Communication Sounds and the Brain: New Directions and Perspectives”.