Abstract
-
1.
The cerci of the cockroach Periplaneta americana bear filiform hair mechanoreceptors that are arranged in segmentally repeated rows and longitudinal columns. The monosynaptic connections between receptors of the same column or row and the 3 largest giant interneurons (GIs) were compared using the oil-gap single fibre technique.
-
2.
For many columns, the synaptic efficacy of the afferents decreased gradually from the base to the tip of the cercus, but columns with an inverted gradient or without any gradient were also observed. On the ipsilateral side (relative to the GI axon), the inverted gradients were exclusively found for columns with short proximal hairs. For one column (d) and GI3, the ipsilateral and contralateral gradients were opposite.
-
3.
Monosynaptic EPSPs evoked by stimulating different receptors of the same segment (segment 3) were of very different amplitudes, which partially account for the directional sensitivity of the GIs. Differences in the location, shape and size of the afferent terminals were not sufficient to explain these differences in connection strength.
-
4.
No correlation was found between the size of the EPSPs produced by a sensory neuron and the length of its associated hair.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- EPSP:
-
excitatory postsynaptic potential
- GI:
-
giant interneuron
- IPSP:
-
inhibitory postsynaptic potential
- PSP:
-
postsynaptic potential
References
Bacon JP, Murphey BK (1984) Receptive fields of cricket giant interneurons are related to their dendritic structure. J Physiol (Lond) 352:601–623
Bastiani MJ, Mulloney B (1988) The central projections of the stretch receptor neurons of crayfish: segmental gradients of synaptic probability and strength. J Neurosci 8:1264–1272
Blagburn JM (1989) Synaptic specificity in the first instar cockroach: patterns of monosynaptic input from filiform hairs to giant interneurons. J Comp Physiol A 166:133–142
Blagburn JM, Sattelle DB (1987) Presynaptic depolarization mediates presynaptic inhibition at a synapse between an identified mechanosensory neurone and giant interneurone 3 in the first instar cockroach, Periplaneta americana. J Exp Biol 127:135–157
Blagburn JM, Thompson KSJ (1990) Specificity of filiform hair afferent synapses onto giant interneurons in Periplaneta americana: anatomy is not a sufficient determinant. J Comp Neurol 302: 255–271
Bodnar DA, Miller JP, Jacobs GA (1991) Anatomy and physiology of identified wind-sensitive local interneurons in the cricket cereal sensory system. J Comp Physiol A 168:553–564
Boyan GS, Williams JLD, Ball EE (1989) The wind-sensitive cereal receptor/giant interneurone system of the locust, Locusta migratoria. IV. The non-giant interneurones. J Comp Physiol A 165:539–552
Callec JJ (1972) Etude de la transmission synaptique dans le système nerveux central d'un insecte (Periplaneta americana). Thèse d'Etat, Université de Rennes, France
Callec JJ, Guillet JC, Pichon Y, Boistel J (1971) Further studies on synaptic transmission in insects. II. Relations between sensory information and its synaptic integration at the level of a single giant axon in the cockroach. J Exp Biol 55:123–149
Camhi JM (1984) Neuroethology: nerve cells and the natural behavior of animals. Sinauer Association, Sunderland Mass
Camhi JM, Levy A (1989) The code for stimulus direction in a cell assembly in the cockroach. J Comp Physiol A 165:83–97
Dagan D, Camhi JM (1979) Responses to wind recorded from the cereal nerve of the cockroach Periplaneta americana. II. Directional selectivity of the sensory neurons innervating single columns of filiform hairs. J Comp Physiol 133:103–110
Dagan D, Volman S (1982) Sensory basis for directional wind detection in first instar cockroaches Periplaneta americana. J Comp Physiol 147:471–478
Daley DL (1982) Neural basis of wind receptive fields of cockroach giant interneurons. Brain Res 238:211–216
Daley DL, Camhi JM (1988) Connectivity pattern of the cercal-togiant interneuron system of the American cockroach. J Neurophysiol 60:1350–1368
Hamon A, Guillet JC (1986) Effects of oxygen on the cereal receptors of the cockroach Periplaneta americana. Comp Biochem Physiol 60A:427–431
Hamon A, Guillet JC, Callec JJ (1988) Initiation and conduction of impulses in mechanosensory neurons: effects of hypoxia. Comp Biochem Physiol 91A:797–805
Hamon A, Guillet JC, Callec JJ (1990) A gradient of synaptic efficacy and its presynaptic basis in the cereal system of the cockroach. J Comp Physiol A 167:363–376
Harrow ID, Hue B, Pelhate M, Sattelle DB (1980) Cockroach giant interneurones stained by cobalt backfilling of dissected axons. J Exp Biol 84:341–343
Kanou M, Shimozawa T (1984) A threshold analysis of cricket cereal interneurons by an alternating air-current stimulus. J Comp Physiol A 154:357–365
McLoon SC (1991) A monoclonal antibody that distinguishes between temporal and nasal retinal axons. J Neurosci 11:1470–1477
Murphey RK, Chiba A (1990) Assembly of the cricket cereal sensory system: genetic and epigenetic control. J Neurobiol 21:120–137
Nicklaus R (1965) Die Erregung einzelner Fadenhaare von Periplaneta americana in Abhängigkeit von der Grösse und Richtung der Auslenkung. Z Vergl Physiol 50:331–362
Pichon Y, Callec JJ (1970) Further studies on synaptic transmission in insects. I. External recording of synaptic potentials in a single giant axon of the cockroach Periplaneta americana. J Exp Biol 52:257–265
Plummer MR, Camhi JM (1981) Discrimination of sensory signals from noise in the escape system of the cockroach: the role of wind acceleration. J Comp Physiol 142:347–357
Shepherd D, Murphey RK (1986) Competition regulates the efficacy of an identified synapse in crickets. J Neurosci 6:3152–3160
Shepherd D, Kämper G, Murphey RK (1988) The synaptic origins of receptive field properties in the cricket cereal sensory system. J Comp Physiol A 162:1–11
Shimozawa T, Kanou M (1984a) Varieties of filiform hairs: range fractionation by sensory afferents and cereal interneurons of a cricket. J Comp Physiol A155:485–493
Shimozawa T, Kanou M (1984b) The aerodynamics and sensory physiology of range fractionation in the cereal filiform sensilla of the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus. J Comp Physiol A 155:495–505
Thompson KSJ, Blagburn JM, Gibbon CB, Bacon JP (1992) Correlation of filiform hair position with sensory afferent morphology and synaptic connections in the second instar cockroach. J Comp Neurol 320:213–227
Trisler D (1990) Cell recognition and pattern formation in the developing nervous system. J Exp Biol 153:11–27
Trudeau LE, Castelluci VF (1992) Contribution of polysynaptic pathways in the mediation and plasticity of Aplysia gill and siphon withdrawal reflex: evidence for differential modulation. J Neurosci 12:3838–3848
Westin J, Langberg JJ, Camhi J (1977) Responses of giant interneurons of the cockroach Periplaneta americana to wind puffs of different directions and velocities. J Comp Physiol 121:307–324
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hamon, A., Guillet, J.C. & Callec, J.J. Patterns of monosynaptic input to the giant interneurons 1–3 in the cereal system of the adult cockroach. J Comp Physiol A 174, 91–102 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00192010
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00192010