ABSTRACT Title of dissertation: SOMATOSENSORY SIGNALING FOR FLIGHT CONTROL IN THE ECHOLOCATING BAT EPTESICUS FUSCUS

Title of dissertation: SOMATOSENSORY SIGNALING FOR FLIGHT CONTROL IN THE ECHOLOCATING BAT EPTESICUS FUSCUS Mohit Chadha, Doctor of Philosophy, 2014 Dissertation directed by: Professor Cynthia F. Moss Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Bats are the only mammals to have evolved powered flight. Their specialized handwings with elongated digits and a thin membrane spanning the digits not only enable flight, but give them unrivaled aerial maneuverability. Bat wing membrane is endowed with an array of microscopic hairs that are hypothesized to monitor airflow and provide sensory feedback to guide rapid motor adjustments for flight control. The goal of this thesis is to contribute to a broader understanding of the response properties of wingassociated tactile receptive fields, and the representation of aerodynamic feedback in the bat’s nervous system. Using the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus, a series of neurophysiological experiments were performed where the primary somatosensory cortical (S1) responses to tactile and airflow stimulation of the wings were analyzed. Results demonstrate that the body surface is organized topographically across the surface of S1, with an overrepresentation of wings, head and foot. The wings have an inverted orientation compared to hand representation of terrestrial mammals, with tactile thresholds that are remarkably close to