Summary
In tethered, minimally dissected grasshoppers stridulation was elicited by DC brain stimulation. Intracellular recording, stimulation and staining of interneurons in the metathoracic ganglion complex were performed simultaneously with measurements of hindleg movements. The functional significance of interneurons for generation of the stridulation rhythm and bilateral coordination of the hindlegs was tested and quantitatively analysed. Interneurons involved in stridulation were found in the metathoracic and abdominal neuromeres. Typically they included arborizations in a dorsal neuropil parallel to the long axis of the ganglion. Interneuron T3-LI-3 started and drove the ipsilateral rhythm generator. The stridulation rhythm was reset by interneuron A1-AC-1. It was stopped if interneuron T3-AC-1 was stimulated. Bilateral coordination of stridulation movements was based on excitatory and inhibitory pathways between the hemiganglionic networks. Switching in the coordination of hindleg movement patterns was induced by changes in the discharge rate of the bilateral arborizing interneuron T3-LC-4. The hemiganglionic interneurons T3-LI-3 and T3-LI-1 influenced coordination via the activity level within the networks.
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Hedwig, B. On the control of stridulation in the acridid grasshopper Omocestus viridulus L.. J Comp Physiol A 171, 117–128 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00195967
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00195967