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Dendritic projections of different types of octopaminergic unpaired median neurons in the locust metathoracic ganglion

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Abstract

Octopaminergic dorsal unpaired median (DUM) neurons of locust thoracic ganglia are important components of motor networks and are divided into various sub-populations. We have examined individually stained metathoracic DUM neurons, their dendritic projection patterns, and their relationship to specific architectural features of the metathoracic ganglion, such as longitudinal tracts, transverse commissures, and well-defined sensory neuropils. The detailed branching patterns of individually characterized DUM neurons of various types were analyzed in vibratome sections in which architectural features were revealed by using antibodies against tubulin and synapsin. Whereas DUM3,4,5 and DUM5 neurons (the group innervating leg and “non-wing-power” muscles) had many ventral and dorsal branches, DUM1 and DUM3,4 neurons (innervating “wing-power” muscles) branched extensively only in dorsal areas. The structure of DUM3 neurons differed markedly from that of the other DUM neurons examined in that they sent branches into dorsal areas and had differently structured side branches that mostly extended laterally. The differences between the branching patterns of these neurons were quantified by using currently available new reconstruction algorithms. These structural differences between the various classes of DUM neurons corresponded to differences in their function and biophysical properties.

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Acknowledgements

We are indebted to Dr. F. Evers, Cambridge, UK, to Dr. D. Münch, Oslo, Norway, and to Dr. C. Duch, Tempe, USA, for help with the AMIRA program and numerous discussions, and, in particular, to Heike Wolfenberg, Berlin, for expert technical assistance. We are also grateful to Dr. A.H.D. Watson, Cardiff, UK, to Dr. J. Rybak and M. Wurm, Berlin, and to two anonymous referees for valuable suggestions and critical reading of the manuscript.

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  1. Freie Universität Berlin, Fachbereich Biologie, Chemie, Pharmazie, Institut für Biologie, Neurobiologie, Königin-Luise-Strasse 28-30, 14195, Berlin, Germany

    Natalia L. Kononenko & Hans-Joachim Pflüger

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  1. Natalia L. Kononenko
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  2. Hans-Joachim Pflüger
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Correspondence to Natalia L. Kononenko.

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N.L.K. gratefully acknowledges receipt of a fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Bonn, Germany, and financial support from the research committee (Forschungskommission) of the Freie Universität Berlin.

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Kononenko, N.L., Pflüger, HJ. Dendritic projections of different types of octopaminergic unpaired median neurons in the locust metathoracic ganglion. Cell Tissue Res 330, 179–195 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-007-0425-3

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