Summary
322 neurons were recorded intracellularly within the central part of the insect brain and 150 of them were stained with Lucifer Yellow or cobaltous sulphide. Responses to mechanical, olfactory, visual and acoustical stimulation were determined and compared between morphologically different cell types in different regions of the central brain. Almost all neurons responded to multimodal stimulation and showed complex responses. It was not possible to divide the cells into different groups using physiological criteria alone.
Extrinsic neurons with projections to the calyces connect the mushroom bodies with the deutocerebrum and also with parts of the diffuse protocerebrum. These cells probably give input to the mushroom body system. The majority are multimodal and they often show olfactory responses. Among those cells that extend from the antennal neuropil are neurons that respond to non-antennal stimulation (Figs. 1, 2).
Extrinsic neurons with projections in the lobes of the mushroom bodies often project to the lateral protocerebrum. Anatomical and physiological evidence suggest that they form an output system of the mushroom bodies. They are also multimodal and often exhibit long lasting after discharges and changes in sensitivity and activity level, which can be related to specific stimuli or stimulus combinations (Figs. 3, 4).
Extrinsic neurons, especially those projecting to the region where both lobes bifurcate, exhibit stronger responses to multimodal stimuli than other local brain neurons. Intensity coding for antennal stimulation is not different from other areas of the central protocerebrum, but the signal-tonoise ratio is increased (Fig. 5).
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- AGT :
-
antenno-glomerular tract
References
Bacon J, Altman JS (1977) Silver intensification of cobalt-filled neurons in intact ganglia. Brain Res 138:359–363
Bacon JP, Möhl B (1979) Activity of an identified wind interneuron in a flying locust. Nature 278:638–640
Bentley D (1977) Control of cricket song patterns by descending interneurons. J Comp Physiol 116:19–36
Burrows M, Boeckh J, Esslen J (1982) Physiological and morphological properties of interneurones in the deutocerebrum of male cockroaches which respond to female pheromone. J Comp Physiol 145:447–457
Erber J (1978) Response characteristics and aftereffects of multimodal neurons in the mushroom body of the honey bee. Physiol Entomol 3:77–89
Erber J (1981) Neural correlates of learning in the honeybee Tr Neurosci 4:270–273
Erber J, Masuhr T, Menzel R (1980) Localization of short-term memory in the brain of the beeApis mellifera. Physiol Entomol 5:343–358
Ernst KD, Boeckh J, Boeckh V (1977) A neuroanatomical study on the organization of the central antennal pathway in insects. Cell Tissue Res 176:285–308
Esslen J (1982) Olfactory deutocerebral and protocerebral neurones in the cockroachPeriplaneta americana. Verb Dtsch Zool Ges 75:268
Goll W (1967) Strukturuntersuchungen am Gehirn vonFormica. Z Morphol Ökol Tiere 59:143–210
Hanström B (1928) Vergleichende Anatomie des Nervensystems der wirbellosen Tiere. Springer, Berlin
Hertel H (1980) Chromatic properties of identified interneurons in the optic lobes of the bee. J Comp Physiol 137:215–231
Homberg U (1982) Das mediane Protocerebrum der Honigbiene (Apis mellifica) im Bereich des Zentralkörpers: Physiologische und morphologische Charakterisierung. Dissertation, Berlin
Homberg U, Erber J (1979) Response characteristics and identification of extrinsic mushroom body neurons of the bee. Z Naturforsch 34C:612–615
Honegger HW, Schürmann FW (1975) Cobalt sulphide staining of optic fibers in the brain of the cricketGryllus campestris. Cell Tissue Res 159:213–225
Huber F (1960) Untersuchungen über die Funktion des Zentralnervensystems und insbesondere des Gehirns bei der Fortbewegung und der Lauterzeugung der Grillen. Z Vergl Physiol 44:60–132
Kalmring K, Kühne R, Moysich F (1978) The auditory pathway in the ventral cord of the migratory locust. J Comp Physiol 126:25–33
Kenyon CF (1896) The brain of the bee. J Comp Neurol 6:133–210
Klemm N (1983) Monoamine-containing neurons and their projections in the brain of the cockroaches. Cell Tissue Res 229:379–402
Matsumoto SG, Hildebrand JG (1981) Olfactory mechanisms in the mothManduca sexta: Response characteristics and morphology of central neurons in the antennal lobes. Proc R Soc Lond B 213:249–277
Mobbs PG (1982a) The brain of the honeybeeApis mellifera. I. The connections and spatial organization of the mushroom bodies. Philos Trans R Soc Lond [Biol] 298:309–354
Mobbs PG (1983) The structure and function of insect mushroom bodies. TINS (in press)
O'Shea M, Rowell CHF (1977) Complex neural integration and identified interneurons in the locust brain. In: Hoyle G (ed) Identified neurons and behavior of arthropods. Plenum Press, New York, pp 307–328
Otto D (1971) Untersuchungen zur zentralnervösen Kontrolle der Lauterzeugung von Grillen. Z Vergl Physiol 74:227–271
Otto D, Weber T (1982) Interneurons descending from the cricket cephalic ganglia that discharge in the pattern of two motor rhythms. J Comp Physiol 148:209–219
Rosentreter M, Schürmann FW (1982) On types and distribution of neurons connecting the brain with the ventral nerve cord in the cricketAcheta domesticus. Verb Dtsch Zool Ges 75:255
Schildberger K (1981) Some physiological features of mushroom body linked fibers in the house cricket brain. Naturwissenschaften 67:623
Schildberger K (1982) Untersuchungen zur Struktur und Funktion von Interneuronen im Pilzkörperbereich des Gehirns der HausgrilleAcheta domesticus. Dissertation, Göttingen
Schildberger K (1983) Local interneurons associated with the mushroom bodies and the central body in the brain ofAcheta domesticus. Cell Tissue Res 230:573–586
Schürmann FW (1972) Über die Struktur der Pilzkörper des Insektenhirns. II. Synaptische Schaltungen im Alpha-Lobus des Heimchens. Z Zellforsch 127:240–257
Schürmann FW (1974) Bemerkungen zur Funktion der Corpora pedunculata im Gehirn der Insekten aus morphologischer Sicht. Exp Brain Res 19:406–432
Simmons P (1980) Connexions between a movement-detecting visual interneuron and flight motoneurones of a locust. J Exp Biol 86:87–97
Steiger U (1967) Über den Feinbau des Neuropils im Corpus pedunculatum der Waldameise. Z Zellforsch 81:511–536
Stewart WW (1978) Functional connections between cells as revealed by dye-coupling with a highly fluorescent naphthalimid tracer. Cell 14:741–759
Strausfeld NJ (1976b) Atlas of an insect brain. Springer, New York Heidelberg Berlin
Wadepuhl M, Huber F (1979) Elicitation of singing and courtship movements by electrical stimulation of the brain of the grasshopper. Naturwissenschaften 66:320
Waldow U (1975) Multimodale Neurone in Deutocerebrum vonPeriplaneta americana. J Comp Physiol 101:329–341
Weiss MJ (1974) Neuronal connections and the function of the corpora pedunculata of the American cockroachPeriplaneta americana. J Morphol 142:21–69
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schildberger, K. Multimodal interneurons in the cricket brain: properties of identified extrinsic mushroom body cells. J. Comp. Physiol. 154, 71–79 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00605392
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00605392