Dr. Julio C. Hechavarria
Institute for Cell Biology and Neuroscience
Max-von-Laue Str.13
60438 Frankfurt /Main
Tel +49 (0) 69 798 42062
E-Mail: Hechavarria@bio.uni-frankfurt.de
Scientific Focus
Research in my group is focused on the neural mechanisms for information extraction and percept formation in the mammalian auditory system, in particular, at the level of the neocortex and midbrain. Our aim is to understand how single neurons and neural networks extract and piece together the information enclosed in natural sound streams. We conduct experiments in animal models (bats and gerbils) and in human participants.
Methods
Animal models:
In vivo electrophysiology, using single electrodes and electrode arrays
Neuropharmacology, for local and large scale neural deactivation
Bioacoustics, for studying the physical properties of vocalizations
Behavioral training.
Humans:
Electroencephalography (EEG)
Selected Publications
Beetz MJ, Kordes S, García-Rosales F, Kössl M, Hechavarría JC. (2017) Processing of Natural Echolocation Sequences in the Inferior Colliculus of Seba’s Fruit Eating Bat, Carollia perspicillata. eNeuro. 4 (6). pii: ENEURO.0314-17.2017.
Martin LM, García-Rosales F, Beetz MJ, Hechavarria JC. (2017) Processing of temporally patterned sounds in the auditory cortex of Seba’s short-tailed bat, Carollia perspicillata. European Journal of Neuroscience. 46 (8): 2365-2379
Schaeffer MK, Kössl M, Hechavarria JC. (2017) Laminar differences in response to simple and spectro-temporally complex sounds in the primary auditory cortex of ketamine-anesthetized gerbils. PLoS One.12 (8): e0182514.
Hechavarria JC, Beetz JM, Macias S, Kössl M. (2016) Vocal sequences suppress spiking in the bat auditory cortex while evoking concomitant steady-state local field potentials. Scientific reports; 6: 39226.
Hechavarría JC, Macías S, Vater M, Mora EC, Kössl M. (2013) Blurry topography for precise target-distance computations in the auditory cortex of echolocating bats. Nature Communications. 4:2587, doi: 10.1038/ncomms3587.