CENTRAL MECHANISMS OF ANTENNAL SENSES IN INSECTS

Project: Research project

Grant Details

Description

Present knowledge of the structure and physiology of sensilla and their sensory
neurons in the antennae of insects provide a basis for a detailed
neurophysiological, anatomical, and ultrastructural study of neural pathways
subserving olfaction and mechanosensation in the insect brain. This research
aims to trace the pathways of antennal afferent axons into the central nervous
system; to characterize the electrophysiological responses of the neurons in the
deutocerebrum to defined olfactory and mechanosensory antennal inputs; to
prepare an inventory of types and projections of deutocerebral neurons; to
classify synapses in the glomeruli of the deutocerebral antennal lobes on the
basis of ultrastructure and the cellular elements participating in each type; to
probe further the chemical composition and physiological actions of male and
female pheromone systems; and to test the usefulness of methods of metabolic
cell-marking to construct functional maps of neural activity in the central
nervous system with various types of antennal stimulation. These studies will
employ the large, easily reared, and experimentally tractable lepidopteran
insect Manduca sexta. The central effort in this work will involve
intracellular recording of synaptic and active potentials in, and intracellular
dye-marking of, deutocerebral neurons with glass micro-electrodes in order to
correlate cell responses with cell types. This research is expected to
contribute knowledge about the brain mechanisms underlying olfactorily mediated
behavior in insects and thereby to aid progress toward new and selective means
of controlling insects that spread diseases and destroy food supplies.
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date9/1/857/31/97

Funding

  • National Institutes of Health: $142,266.00
  • National Institutes of Health: $164,609.00
  • National Institutes of Health: $167,392.00

ASJC

  • Medicine(all)
  • Immunology and Microbiology(all)

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