Parallel processing of afferent input by identified interneurones in the auditory pathway of the noctuid moth Noctua pronuba (L.)

Summary

• 1. Interneurones 501 and 504 are identified sound-sensitive interneurones in the pterothoracic ganglion of the noctuid moth Noctua pronuba (Fig. 1). Both neurones receive monosynaptic input from the A1 afferent (Figs. 2, 3) and experiments with current injection suggest that the synapse is chemical (Fig. 4). The EPSPs evoked in either IN 501 or 504 by the A1 afferent do not facilitate (Fig. 5A, B).

• 2. Temporal integration in INs 501 and 504 was compared by presenting the moth with tones at repetition rates found in the search, approach and terminal phases of the echolocating call of a hunting bat (Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9). INs 501 and 504 differ in their capacity to resolve stimulus repetition rates because the mean decay times of their compound EPSPs differ by a factor of three (Fig. 10), although both interneurones receive monosynaptic input from the A1 afferent.

• 3. The features extracted from the authentic, prerecorded, call of an echolocating bat at the level of the pterothoracic ganglion were examined by recording sequentially from a range of interneurones in the same preparation (Fig. 11). The capacity of INs 501 and 504 to encode the various phases of the call was examined in the light of their measured mean decay times and related to the avoidance behaviour of the insect (Figs. 12, 13).