Circadian Inputs Influence the Performance of a Spiking, Movement-Sensitive Neuron in the Visual System of the Blowfly

Bult, R.; Schuling, F. H.; Mastebroek, H. A. K.

doi:10.1177/074873049100600107

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The sensitivity of locust photoreceptors follows a diurnal rhythm as a result of changes in photoreceptor membrane properties (Cuttle et al, 1995) and the extent of rhabdom turnover (Williams, 1983). Circadian changes under constant dark conditions have also been recorded in the optic neuropiles of insects, in the lamina and lobula plate of flies (Pyza and Meinertzhagen, 1993;Bult et al, 1991) and in the lobula complex of cockroaches (Bult and Mastebroek, 1993) and bees (Kaiser and SteinerKaiser, 1983). The circadian rhythmicity we have demonstrated in DCMD spiking activity could therefore arise from changes in LGMD and/or DCMD, or from changes in neurones presynaptic to them.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solitary and Gregarious Locusts Differ in Circadian Rhythmicity of a Visual Output Neuron

et al. 2012

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Locusts demonstrate remarkable phenotypic plasticity driven by changes in population density. This density dependent phase polyphenism is associated with many physiological, behavioural and morphological changes, including observations that cryptic solitarious (solitary-reared) individuals start to fly at dusk, whereas gregarious (crowd-reared) individuals are day-active. We have recorded for 24-36h from an identified visual output neuron, the descending contralateral movement detector (DCMD) of Schistocerca gregaria, in solitarious and gregarious animals. DCMD signals impending collision and participates in flight avoidance manoeuvres. The strength of DCMD's response to looming stimuli, characterised by the number of evoked spikes and peak firing rate, varies approximately sinusoidally with a period close to 24h under constant light in solitarious locusts. In gregarious individuals the 24h pattern is more complex, being modified by secondary ultradian rhythms. DCMD's strongest responses occur around expected dusk in solitarious locusts, but up to 6h earlier in gregarious locusts, matching the times of day at which locusts of each type are most active. We thus demonstrate a neuronal correlate of a temporal shift in behaviour that is observed in gregarious locusts. Our ability to alter the nature of a circadian rhythm by manipulating the rearing density of locusts under identical light-dark cycles may provide important tools to investigate further the mechanisms underlying diurnal rhythmicity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solitary and Gregarious Locusts Differ in Circadian Rhythmicity of a Visual Output Neuron

et al. 2012

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“…In addition, the response amplitude during dusk might have been affected by circadian rhythms that modulate the sensitivity of the H1-neuron. It has been shown that both the spontaneous activity of the H1neuron and its sensitivity to image motion decrease in the evening (Bult, Schuling, & Mastebroek, 1991). However, apart from experiments at very low light levels which were always performed in the evening (because only then was it warm enough; early in the morning it was always cooler than 17°C), the data were pooled from experiments done in the morning and in the afternoon.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Outdoor performance of a motion-sensitive neuron in the blowfly

et al. 2001

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We studied an identified motion-sensitive neuron of the blowfly under outdoor conditions. The neuron was stimulated by oscillating the fly in a rural environment. We analysed whether the motion-induced neuronal activity is affected by brightness changes ranging between bright sunlight and dusk. In addition, the relationship between spike rate and ambient temperature was determined. The main results are: (1) The mean spike rate elicited by visual motion is largely independent of brightness changes over several orders of magnitude as they occur as a consequence of positional changes of the sun. Even during dusk the neuron responds strongly and directionally selective to motion. (2) The neuronal spike rate is not significantly affected by short-term brightness changes caused by clouds temporarily occluding the sun. (3) In contrast, the neuronal activity is much affected by changes in ambient temperature.

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“…If the recorded neurons do play a role in the circadian system, stronger and perhaps even antagonistic responses to light might, therefore, be expected in the early and late night. Striking circadian differences in responsiveness have, indeed, been observed in visual interneurons in a fly, a cockroach, and a bee (Kaiser, 1983;Bult et al, 1991;Bult and Mastebroek, 1993), and suggest that those neurons are under circadian control. To distinguish between neurons that merely re- ceive efferent input from a clock and intrinsic elements of the circadian system, one would have to stimulate the recorded neurons electrically and monitor their phaseshifting effects on the circadian output.…”

Section: Principal Neurons Of the Amementioning

confidence: 94%

Movement-sensitive, polarization-sensitive, and light-sensitive neurons of the medulla and accessory medulla of the locust,Schistocerca gregaria

Homberg

Würden

1997

J. Comp. Neurol.

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Several lines of evidence suggest that the accessory medulla of orthopteroid insects is implicated in the control of circadian rhythms. To investigate the role of this brain area in more detail, anatomical and physiological properties of accessory-medulla neurons of the locust were studied by intracellular recordings combined with Lucifer dye injections. The responses of these neurons to visual stimuli were compared with visual responses of adjacent tangential neurons of the medulla. Principal neurons of the accessory medulla showed weak tonic excitations to stationary light stimuli, but they were not sensitive to movement stimuli or to different e-vector orientations of polarized light. These neurons connected the accessory medulla to the lamina, the anterior medulla, and to several areas in the midbrain including the superior protocerebrum and the posterior optic tubercle. A second class of neurons had tangential arborizations in the medulla, a few sidebranches in the accessory medulla, and projections to the lamina or to the contralateral optic lobe. Several of these neurons were sensitive to polarized light. Finally, a third class of neurons had tangential arborizations in the medulla and axonal projections to the lobula and to the lateral protocerebrum. These neurons showed phasic responses to light and nondirectional selective responses to motion stimuli. The results show that neurons of the accessory medulla receive photic input and support an involvement of this neuropil in circadian timekeeping functions. The possible role of the accessory medulla in polarization vision is discussed.

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Circadian Inputs Influence the Performance of a Spiking, Movement-Sensitive Neuron in the Visual System of the Blowfly

Cited by 12 publications

References 25 publications

Solitary and Gregarious Locusts Differ in Circadian Rhythmicity of a Visual Output Neuron

Solitary and Gregarious Locusts Differ in Circadian Rhythmicity of a Visual Output Neuron

Outdoor performance of a motion-sensitive neuron in the blowfly

Movement-sensitive, polarization-sensitive, and light-sensitive neurons of the medulla and accessory medulla of the locust,Schistocerca gregaria

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