Cell Tissue Res (2014) 355:289–302 DOI 10.1007/s00441-013-1749-9
REGULAR ARTICLE
Sound-sensitive neurons innervate the ventro-lateral protocerebrum of the heliothine moth brain Gerit Pfuhl & Xin-Cheng Zhao & Elena Ian & Annemarie Surlykke & Bente G. Berg
Received: 15 May 2013 / Accepted: 21 October 2013 / Published online: 10 December 2013 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
Abstract Many noctuid moth species perceive ultrasound via tympanic ears that are located at the metathorax. Whereas the neural processing of auditory information is well studied at the peripheral and first synaptic level, little is known about the features characterizing higher order sound-sensitive neurons in the moth brain. During intracellular recordings from the lateral protocerebrum in the brain of three noctuid moth species, Heliothis virescens, Helicoverpa armigera and Helicoverpa assulta, we found an assembly of neurons responding to transient sound pulses of broad bandwidth. The majority of the auditory neurons ascended from the ventral cord and ramified densely within the anterior region of the ventro-lateral protocerebrum. The physiological and morphological characteristics of these auditory neurons were similar. We detected one additional sound-sensitive neuron, a brain interneuron with its soma positioned near the calyces of mushroom bodies and with numerous neuronal processes in the ventro-lateral
This work was supported by the Norwegian Research Council (grant no. 1141434) and the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (I. K. Lykke’s Foundation, 2008) Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00441-013-1749-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. G. Pfuhl (*) : X.
REGULAR ARTICLE
Sound-sensitive neurons innervate the ventro-lateral protocerebrum of the heliothine moth brain Gerit Pfuhl & Xin-Cheng Zhao & Elena Ian & Annemarie Surlykke & Bente G. Berg
Received: 15 May 2013 / Accepted: 21 October 2013 / Published online: 10 December 2013 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
Abstract Many noctuid moth species perceive ultrasound via tympanic ears that are located at the metathorax. Whereas the neural processing of auditory information is well studied at the peripheral and first synaptic level, little is known about the features characterizing higher order sound-sensitive neurons in the moth brain. During intracellular recordings from the lateral protocerebrum in the brain of three noctuid moth species, Heliothis virescens, Helicoverpa armigera and Helicoverpa assulta, we found an assembly of neurons responding to transient sound pulses of broad bandwidth. The majority of the auditory neurons ascended from the ventral cord and ramified densely within the anterior region of the ventro-lateral protocerebrum. The physiological and morphological characteristics of these auditory neurons were similar. We detected one additional sound-sensitive neuron, a brain interneuron with its soma positioned near the calyces of mushroom bodies and with numerous neuronal processes in the ventro-lateral
This work was supported by the Norwegian Research Council (grant no. 1141434) and the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (I. K. Lykke’s Foundation, 2008) Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00441-013-1749-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. G. Pfuhl (*) : X.
