Antennal-lobe tracts in the noctuid moth, Heliothis virescens: new anatomical findings

Ian, Elena; Berg, Aleksander; Lillevoll, Siri Corneliussen; Berg, Bente Gunnveig

doi:10.1007/s00441-016-2448-0

Cited by 17 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The lALT has previously been identified as a major output pathway for lcPNs (Homberg et al, 1988;Berg et al, 2007;Ian et al, 2016a,b). The current study confirms that pheromone-responsive lcPNs contribute to the lALT but also reveals that this tract bifurcates around the GC giving rise to ventral and dorsal pathways (Rø et al 2007;Ian et al, 2016b). Physiologically these PNs responded to single odorants but were characterized as blend enhanced.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…The morphology of the contralateral lcPN (Fig. 9E) is similar to ones previously reported in A. segetum (Wu et al 1996) and H. virescens (Ian et al 2016b). The axon of this PN followed the v-lALT ipsilaterally with no apparent synaptic contacts in the isthmus or along the ipsilateral process ( Fig.…”

Section: Contralateral Projectionssupporting

confidence: 85%

“…8D). This part of the SIP was termed the column by Ian et al (2016b) although this is not a recognized structure in the consensus insect brain (Ito et al 2014).…”

Section: Blend Response Lcpnsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Olfactory Projection Neurons From the Moth Antennal Lobe Lateral Cluster exhibit Diverse Morphological and Neurophysiological Characteristics

Stagg

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Olfactory projection neurons convey information from the insect antennal lobe (AL) to higher centers in the brain. Many studies on moths have reported excitatory projection neurons with cell bodies in the medial cell cluster (mcPNs) that predominantly send an axon from the AL to calyces of the mushroom body (CA) via the medial antennal lobe tract (mALT) and then to the lateral horn (LH) of the protocerebrum. These neurons tend to have dendritic arbors restricted to a single glomerulus (i.e. they are uniglomerular). In this study, we report on the physiological and morphological properties of a group of pheromone-responsive olfactory projection neurons with cell bodies in the moth AL lateral cell cluster (lcPNs) of two heliothine moth species. While mcPNs typically exhibit a narrow odor tuning range related to the restriction of their dendritic arbors within a single glomerulus, lcPNs exhibited an array of morphological and physiological configurations. Pheromone-responsive lcPNs varied in their associations with glomeruli (uniglomerular and multiglomerular), dendritic arborization structure and connections to higher brain centers with projections primarily through the lateral antennal lobe tract and to a lesser extent the mediolateral antennal lobe tract to a variety of protocerebral targets including ventrolateral and superior neuropils as well as LH. Physiological characterization of lcPNs also revealed a diversity of response profiles including those either enhanced by or reliant upon presentation of a pheromone blend. These responses manifested themselves as higher maximum firing rates and/or improved temporal resolution of pulsatile stimuli. lcPNs therefore participate in conveying a variety of olfactory information relating to qualitative and temporal facets of the pheromone stimulus to a more expansive number of protocerebral targets than their mcPN counterparts. The role of lcPNs in the overall scheme of olfactory processing is discussed.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Contralateral Projectionssupporting

confidence: 85%

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Olfactory Projection Neurons From the Moth Antennal Lobe Lateral Cluster exhibit Diverse Morphological and Neurophysiological Characteristics

Stagg

et al. 2018

Preprint

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“…The second major target region for olfactory projections from the AL is the lateral horn ( Figure 6I). The neurons terminating in the lateral horn either originate in the medial antennal lobe tract and reach the lateral horn after providing input to the calyx, or they target this region directly via the lateral and mediolateral antennal lobe tracts (Ian, Berg, Lillevoll, & Berg, 2016). The lateral horn neuropil is located in the lateralmost part of the central brain and is medially completely fused with the surrounding protocerebral regions (inferior, superior and ventrolateral protocerebrum).…”

Section: Mushroom Bodiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The brain of a nocturnal migratory insect, the Australian Bogong moth

Adden

Wibrand

Pfeiffer

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Every year, millions of Australian Bogong moths (Agrotis infusa) complete an astonishing journey: in spring, they migrate from their breeding grounds to the alpine regions of the Snowy Mountains, where they endure the hot summer in the cool climate of alpine caves. In autumn, the moths return to their breeding grounds, where they mate, lay eggs and die. Each journey can be over 1000 km long and each moth generation completes the entire roundtrip. Without being able to learn any aspect of this journey from experienced individuals, these moths can use visual cues in combination with the geomagnetic field to guide their flight. How these cues are processed and integrated in the brain to drive migratory behaviour is as yet unknown. Equally unanswered is the question of how these insects identify their targets, i.e. specific alpine caves used as aestivation sites over many generations. To generate an access point for functional studies aiming at understanding the neural basis of these insect's nocturnal migrations, we provide a detailed description of the Bogong moth's brain. Based on immunohistochemical stainings against synapsin and serotonin (5HT), we describe the overall layout as well as the fine structure of all major neuropils, including all regions that have previously been implicated in compass-based navigation. The resulting average brain atlas consists of 3D reconstructions of 25 separate neuropils, comprising the most detailed account of a moth brain to date. Our results show that the Bogong moth brain follows the typical lepidopteran ground pattern, with no major specializations that can be attributed to their spectacular migratory lifestyle. Comparison to the brain of the migratory Monarch butterfly revealed nocturnal versus diurnal lifestyle and phylogenetic identity as the dominant parameters determining large-scale neuroarchitecture. These findings suggest that migratory behaviour does not require widespread modifications of brain structure, but might be achievable via small adjustments of neural circuitry in key brain areas. Locating these subtle changes will be a challenging task for the future, for which our study provides an essential anatomical framework.

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“…In a recent study of the heliothine moth, we demonstrated that the calyces get input mainly from the uni-glomerular PNs belonging to the medial ALT [16]. This kind of arrangement allowed us to measure odor-evoked activity from the medial-tract PNs specifically by applying the calcium-sensitive dye fura2 into the calyx.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coincidence of pheromone and plant odor leads to sensory plasticity in the heliothine olfactory system

et al. 2017

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Male moths possess a highly specialized olfactory system comprised of two segregated sub-arrangements dedicated to processing information about plant odors and pheromones, respectively. Communication between these two sub-systems has been described at the peripheral level, but relatively little is known about putative interactions at subsequent synaptic relays. The male moth faces the challenge of seeking out the conspecific female in a highly dynamic odor world. The female-produced pheromone blend, which is a limited resource serving as guidance for the male, will reach his antennae in intermittent pockets of odor filaments mixed with volatiles from various plants. In the present study we performed calcium imaging for measuring odor-evoked responses in the uni-glomerular antennal-lobe projection neurons (analog to mitral cells in the vertebrate olfactory bulb) of Helicoverpa armigera. In order to investigate putative interactions between the two sub-systems tuned to plant volatiles and pheromones, respectively, we performed repeated stimulations with a selection of biologically relevant odors. We found that paired stimulation with a plant odor and the pheromone led to suppressed responses in both sub-systems as compared to those evoked during initial stimulation including application of each odor stimulus alone. The fact that the suppression persisted also after pairing, indicates the existence of a Hebbian-like plasticity in the primary olfactory center established by temporal pairing of the two odor stimulation categories.

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Antennal-lobe tracts in the noctuid moth, Heliothis virescens: new anatomical findings

Cited by 17 publications

References 47 publications

Olfactory Projection Neurons From the Moth Antennal Lobe Lateral Cluster exhibit Diverse Morphological and Neurophysiological Characteristics

Olfactory Projection Neurons From the Moth Antennal Lobe Lateral Cluster exhibit Diverse Morphological and Neurophysiological Characteristics

The brain of a nocturnal migratory insect, the Australian Bogong moth

Coincidence of pheromone and plant odor leads to sensory plasticity in the heliothine olfactory system

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