Reduction of Brain Volume Correlates with Behavioral Changes in Queen Ants

Julian, Glennis E.; Gronenberg, Wulfila

doi:10.1159/000065936

Cited by 73 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…In Agrotis ipsilon pheromone-specific odor processing seems to be dependent upon juvenile hormone and age (Anton and Gadenne 1999;Gadenne and Anton 2000;Greiner et al 2002). Two main possibilities may explain the induction of adult neuropilar growth: first, it might represent the final maturation processes, which are possibly hormonally controlled, or second, it might be a manifestation of early adult neural plasticity depending on sensory input (as discussed in Julian and Gronenberg 2002). A separation of these two possibilities may not be possible; indeed, they may build upon each other (Devaud et al 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Standard three-dimensional glomeruli of the Manduca sexta antennal lobe: a tool to study both developmental and adult neuronal plasticity

Huetteroth

Schachtner

2005

Cell Tissue Res

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The metamorphosing antennal lobe (AL) of the sphinx moth Manduca sexta serves as an established model system for studying neuronal development. To improve our understanding of mechanisms involved in neuronal plasticity, we have analyzed the size, shape, and localization of ten identified glomeruli at three different time points during development and in the adult, viz., (1) 13 days after pupal eclosion (P13), which reflects a time when the basic glomerular map has formed, (2) immediately after adult eclosion (A0), which represents a time when the newly formed glomeruli are uninfluenced by external odors, and (3) 4 days after adult eclosion (A4), which reflects a time when the animals have been exposed to surrounding odors. Our data from normally developing ALs of male M. sexta from P13 to A0 revealed an increase in size of all examined glomeruli of between 40% and 130%, with the strongest increases occurring in two of the three sex-specific glomeruli (cumulus, toroid). From A0 to A4, the cumulus and toroid increased significantly when correlated to AL volume, whereas the other glomeruli reached the sizes gained after A0. This study was based on antibody staining against the ubiquitous synaptic vesicle protein synaptotagmin, confocal laser scan microscopy, and the three-dimensional (3D) analysis tool AMIRA. Tissue permeability and therefore reliability of the staining quality was enhanced by using formalin/methanol fixation. The standard 3D glomeruli introduced in this study can now be used as basic tools for further examination of neuronal plasticity at the level of the identified neuropil structures, viz., the glomeruli of the AL of M. sexta.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Standard three-dimensional glomeruli of the Manduca sexta antennal lobe: a tool to study both developmental and adult neuronal plasticity

Huetteroth

Schachtner

2005

Cell Tissue Res

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“…For example, virgin female ants (Messor pergandei or Pogonomyrmex rugosus) make mating flights before removing their wings and excavating a subterranean nest to found a new colony. Brain regions specifically associated with visual processing such as the medulla are reduced in volume in these mature mated ant queens relative to virgin female ants (Julian and Gronenberg, 2002). The reductions of specific sensory structures and their associated brain regions also occur in animals living on islands (see Niven, 2005;Niven, 2007;Niven, 2008b).…”

Section: Environmental Influences On Trade-offs Between Energy and Pementioning

confidence: 98%

Energy limitation as a selective pressure on the evolution of sensory systems

Niven

Laughlin

2008

Journal of Experimental Biology

915

779

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SummaryEvolution of animal morphology, physiology and behaviour is shaped by the selective pressures to which they are subject. Some selective pressures act to increase the benefits accrued whilst others act to reduce the costs incurred, affecting the cost/benefit ratio. Selective pressures therefore produce a trade-off between costs and benefits that ultimately influences the fitness of the whole organism. The nervous system has a unique position as the interface between morphology, physiology and behaviour; the final output of the nervous system is the behaviour of the animal, which is a product of both its morphology and physiology. The nervous system is under selective pressure to generate adaptive behaviour, but at the same time is subject to costs related to the amount of energy that it consumes. Characterising this trade-off between costs and benefits is essential to understanding the evolution of nervous systems, including our own. Within the nervous system, sensory systems are the most amenable to analysing costs and benefits, not only because their function can be more readily defined than that of many central brain regions and their benefits quantified in terms of their performance, but also because recent studies of sensory systems have begun to directly assess their energetic costs. Our review focuses on the visual system in particular, although the principles we discuss are equally applicable throughout the nervous system. Examples are taken from a wide range of sensory modalities in both vertebrates and invertebrates. We aim to place the studies we review into an evolutionary framework. We combine experimentally determined measures of energy consumption from whole retinas of rabbits and flies with intracellular measurements of energy consumption from single fly photoreceptors and recently constructed energy budgets for neural processing in rats to assess the contributions of various components to neuronal energy consumption. Taken together, these studies emphasize the high costs of maintaining neurons at rest and whilst signalling. A substantial proportion of neuronal energy consumption is related to the movements of ions across the neuronal cell membrane through ion channels, though other processes such as vesicle loading and transmitter recycling also consume energy. Many of the energetic costs within neurons are linked to 3Na + /2K + ATPase activity, which consumes energy to pump Na + and K + ions across the cell membrane and is essential for the maintenance of the resting potential and its restoration following signalling. Furthermore, recent studies in fly photoreceptors show that energetic costs can be related, via basic biophysical relationships, to their function. These findings emphasize that neurons are subject to a law of diminishing returns that severely penalizes excess functional capacity with increased energetic costs. The high energetic costs associated with neural tissue favour energy efficient coding and wiring schemes, which have been found in numerous sensory systems. We discus...

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“…In addition, mating status often affects female movement; virgin females remain in areas where conspecific males are more likely to occur, whereas mated females do not (e.g., Julian & Gronenberg, 2002;Petersson & Sivinski, 2003). Thus, mating status may affect female movement (e.g., Shirai et al, 1998;Ferro et al, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of starvation and mating status on the activity of the flea beetle, Phyllotreta nemorum (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Oku¹,

Vermeer²,

Verbaarschot³

et al. 2010

Eur. J. Entomol.

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Abstract. Flea beetles are characterized by their tendency to jump. They can also fly. First, the effects of starvation on flight activity in the flea beetle, Phyllotreta nemorum L. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) were determined. After starving P. nemorum for five days a greater number of individuals of both sexes flew than when fed continuously for the same period. In addition, the effect of the mating status of females of P. nemorum on their movement was determined. Mated females were more active than virgin females. It is concluded that starvation stimulates the flight activity of both sexes and mating activates the movement of females of P. nemorum.

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Reduction of Brain Volume Correlates with Behavioral Changes in Queen Ants

Cited by 73 publications

References 47 publications

Standard three-dimensional glomeruli of the Manduca sexta antennal lobe: a tool to study both developmental and adult neuronal plasticity

Standard three-dimensional glomeruli of the Manduca sexta antennal lobe: a tool to study both developmental and adult neuronal plasticity

Energy limitation as a selective pressure on the evolution of sensory systems

Effects of starvation and mating status on the activity of the flea beetle, Phyllotreta nemorum (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

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