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Directional responses to sound in the central nervous system of the cricketTeleogryllus commodus (Orthoptera: Gryllidea)

II. A descending interneuron

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Summary

  1. 1.

    The D neuron is one of several auditory interneurons which descend from the prothoracic ganglion in the ventral nerve cord of the cricketTeleogryllus commodus and is characterised by the response properties below.

  2. 2.

    The D neuron has two sensitivity peaks — at 4 kHz (near the conspecific song frequency) and at 900–1,000 Hz. At 4 kHz the ipsilateral intensity-response curve of the D neuron is sigmoid with a dynamic range of 15 dB.

  3. 3.

    The D neuron encodes stimulus durations of up to 80 ms with increases in both the duration of the response and spike numbers per response; but with longer stimulus durations the number of spikes in each response declines. The D neuron follows pulses presented at biologically relevant rates and may therefore provide information on temporal characteristics of the species' song.

  4. 4.

    Directional sensitivity in the D neuron is a maximum at 4 kHz and there is no directional response at 900–1,000 Hz. At low intensities the directivity pattern plotted on polar coordinates is cardioid, with a maximum sensitivity at 90‡ on the ipsilateral side; but at high intensities the response becomes omnidirectional.

  5. 5.

    Removal of contralateral neural input results in a small but consistent reduction in sensitivity to ipsilateral and contralateral sound over a narrow frequency band around 4 kHz. At suprathreshold intensities, however, ipsilateral spike numbers decrease and contralateral spike numbers increase, with the effects becoming more apparent at high intensities. Both excitatory and inhibitory inputs across the ganglion determine the response. The directionality of the D neuron is abolished when the prothoracic tracheal system is blocked, but the tuned response is not affected.

  6. 6.

    Simultaneous recording of the D neuron, and S and L neurons in the ascending auditory pathway, shows that auditory thresholds, spike numbers to a given stimulus, and intensity-response characteristics are different in each neuron. The D neuron is not the posterior projection of S or L neurons.

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Abbreviations

T D :

threshold of D neuron

SPL :

sound pressure level in dB re. 2·10−5N/m2

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Author notes

  1. G. S. Boyan

    Present address: Abt. Huber, Max-Planck-Institut für Verhaltensphysiologie, D-8131, Seewiesen, Federal Republic of Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurobiology, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, 2601, Canberra City, A.C.T., Australia

    G. S. Boyan

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  1. G. S. Boyan
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Additional information

I thank Drs. E.E. Ball, K.G. Hill and G. Stange for critical comments.

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Boyan, G.S. Directional responses to sound in the central nervous system of the cricketTeleogryllus commodus (Orthoptera: Gryllidea). J. Comp. Physiol. 130, 151–159 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00611049

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00611049

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