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Response properties of prothoracic, interganglionic, sound-activated interneurons in the cricketTeleogryllus oceanicus

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Summary

  1. 1.

    The response properties of nine prothoracic interneurons in the cricketTeleogryllus oceanicus are described. Two of these (DN1 and TN1) have been studied previously in another species (Wohlers and Huber 1982); the remaining seven are described here for the first time. Four of the neurons (DN1–DN4) have an axon that projects out of the prothoracic ganglion posteriorly, while the others (TN1–TN5) have axons that project posteriorly and anteriorly.

  2. 2.

    None of the interneurons are sharply tuned, but all show some frequency selectivity. Five are best excited by high frequency tones and show maximum responsiveness in the range 18–40 kHz (Fig. 1). The others are primarily responsive to low frequency tones in the range 3–12 kHz (Fig. 1). All nine neurons receive auditory input in the prothoracic ganglion (Figs. 2–10).

  3. 3.

    Each of the interneurons is direction-sensitive; TN2, TN3 and TN5 are most sensitive to sound played from the soma-ipsilateral side while the others are most sensitive to sound from the soma-contralateral side (Figs. 2–10).

  4. 4.

    Four of the interneurons are able to encode at least some of the temporal features of a model calling song (Fig. 11, Table 1). Only one, however, has a maintained response to continual stimulation; the rest exhibit severely decrementing responses (Fig. 12, Table 1).

  5. 5.

    In addition to responding to sound, some of the neurons respond to wind and/or light (Figs. 2–10).

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Abbreviations

EPSP :

excitatory postsynaptic potential

IPSP :

inhibitory postsynaptic potential

PST :

peri-stimulus time

RDI :

response decrement index

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Avenue Dr. Penfield, H3A 1B1, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Gordon Atkins & Gerald S. Pollack

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  1. Gordon Atkins
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  2. Gerald S. Pollack
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Atkins, G., Pollack, G.S. Response properties of prothoracic, interganglionic, sound-activated interneurons in the cricketTeleogryllus oceanicus . J. Comp. Physiol. 161, 681–693 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00605009

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