Summary
Neurones restricted to the deutocerebrum of the brain of the honeybee are examined using intracellular recording and staining techniques and are classified according to their morphological characteristics. Three morphological categories of deutocerebral neurones were identified and their physiological properties are investigated.
-
1.
A non parametric approach is used to provide a general classification of the responses recorded in this study and to compare the response patterns of deutocerebral neurones belonging to different morphological categories. A more detailed analysis is used to investigate trends within and between populations of deutocerebral neurones grouped according to their morphological characteristics, or according to the type of stimulation applied to the animal.
-
2.
None of the cells recorded in this study responded to simple visual stimulation (a light flash). However, many cells responded to one or more of the three forms of antennal stimulation used (a puff of rose scent, a puff of air and a puff of the alarm pheromone isoamylacetate) and certain neurones responded differently to each of these three forms of antennal stimulation. The most common response to all antennal stimuli was an increase in the frequency of action potentials recorded at the onset of the stimulus. Some variation in the response patterns of neurones innervating different regions of the antennal lobe was revealed. However, it was not possible to predict the morphology of deutocerebral neurones based upon their background frequency of action potentials, their response characteristics, or the latency of their responses.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- AGT :
-
antenno-glomerular tract
- LPTC :
-
lateral lobe of the protocerebrum
- SOG :
-
suboesophageal ganglion
References
Arnold G, Masson C, Budharugsa S (1985) Comparative study of the antennal lobes and their afferent pathway in the worker bee and the drone (Apis mellifera). Cell Tissue Res 242:593–605
Burrows M, Boeckh J, Esslen J (1982) Physiological and morphological properties of interneurons in the deutocerebrum of male cockroaches which respond to female pheromone. J Comp Physiol 145:447–457
Carrow GM, Calabrese RL, Williams CM (1984) Architecture and physiology of insect neurosecretory cells. J Neurosci 4:1034–1044
Christensen TA, Hildebrand JG (1987) Male specific, sex pheromone-selective projection neurons in the antennal lobes of the mothManduca sexta. J Comp Physiol A 160:553–569
Ernst KD, Boeckh J, Boeckh V (1977) A neuroanatomical study on the organization of central antennal pathways in insects. II. Deutocerebral connections inLocusta migratoria andPeriplaneta americana. Cell Tissue Res 176:295–308
Hardie RC (1987) Is histamine a neurotransmitter in insect photoreceptors? J Comp Physiol A 161:201–213
Homberg U (1984) Processing of antennal information in extrinsic mushroom body neurons of the bee brain. J Comp Physiol A 154:825–836
Masson C, Arnold G (1984) Ontogeny, maturation and plasticity of the olfactory system in the workerbee. J Insect Physiol 30:7–14
Matsumoto SG, Hildebrand JG (1981) Olfactory mechanisms in the mothManduca sexta: response characteristics and morphology of the central neurons in the antennal lobes. Proc R Soc Lond B 213:249–277
Mobbs PG (1982) The brain of the honeybee,Apis mellifera. I. The connections and spatial organization of the mushroom bodies. Phil Trans R Soc Lond B 298:309–354
Mobbs PG (1984) Neural networks in the mushroom bodies of the honeybee. J Insect Physiol 30:43–58
Mobbs PG (1985) Brain structure. In: Kerkut GA, Gilbert LI (eds) Comprehensive insect physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology, vol 5. Nervous system, structure and motor function. Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp 299–370
Pareto A (1972) Die zentrale Verteilung der Fühlerafferenz bei Arbeiterinnen der Honigbiene,Apis mellifera L. Z Zellforsch 131:109–140
Schneider D (1957) Electrophysiological investigation on the receptors of the silk moth during chemical and mechanical stimulation. Experientia 13:89–91
Snedecor GW, Cochran WG (1967) Statistical methods. 6th edn. Iowa State University Press, pp 349–351, 460–464
Strausfeld NJ (1976) Atlas of an insect brain. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York
Strausfeld NJ, Bassemir UK (1983) Cobalt coupled neurons of a giant fibre system in Diptera. J Neurocytol 12:971–991
Strausfeld NJ, Hausen K (1977) The resolution of neuronal assemblies after cobalt injection into neuropil. Proc R Soc Lond B 199:463–476
Suzuki H (1975) Antennal movements induced by odour and central projection of antennal neurons in the honeybee. J Insect Physiol 21:831–847
Suzuki H, Tateda H (1974) An electrophysiological study of olfactory interneurons in the brain of the honeybee. J Insect Physiol 20:2287–2299
Tyrer NM, Bell EM (1974) The intensification of cobalt-filled neurone profiles using a modification of Timm's sulphidesilver method. Brain Res 73:151–155
Waldow U (1977) CNS units in cockroach (Periplaneta americana): specificity of response to pheromones and other odour stimuli. J Comp Physiol 116:1–17
Waldrop B, Christensen TA, Hildebrand JG (1987) GABA-mediated synaptic inhibition of projection neurons in the antennal lobes of the sphinx moth,Manduca sexta. J Comp Physiol A 161:23–32
Yamada M (1971) A search for odour encoding in the olfactory lobe. J Physiol 214:127–143
Yokohari F, Tominaga Y, Tateda H (1982) Antennal hygroreceptor of the honeybee. Cell Tissue Res 226:63–73
Zar JH (1974) Biostatistical analysis. Prentice-Hall, NJ, pp 182–188
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Flanagan, D., Mercer, A.R. Morphology and response characteristics of neurones in the deutocerebrum of the brain in the honeybeeApis mellifera . J. Comp. Physiol. 164, 483–494 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00610442
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00610442