Structure, Activity and Function of a Singing CPG Interneuron Controlling Cricket Species-Specific Acoustic Signaling
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Publication Date
2019-01-02Journal Title
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
ISSN
0270-6474
Publisher
Society for Neuroscience
Volume
39
Issue
1
Pages
96-111
Type
Article
This Version
AM
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Jacob, P. F., & Hedwig, B. (2019). Structure, Activity and Function of a Singing CPG Interneuron Controlling Cricket Species-Specific Acoustic Signaling. JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, 39 (1), 96-111. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1109-18.2018
Abstract
The evolution of species-specific song patterns is a driving force in the speciation of acoustic communicating insects. It must be closely linked to adaptations of the neuronal network controlling the underlying singing motor activity. What are the cellular and network properties that allow generating different songs? In five cricket species, we analyzed the structure and activity of the identified abdominal ascending opener interneuron, a homologous key component of the singing central pattern generator. The structure of the interneuron, based on the position of the cell body, ascending axon, dendritic arborization pattern, and dye-coupling is highly similar across species. The neuron’s spike activity shows a tight coupling to the singing motor activity. In all species, current injection into the interneuron drives artificial song patterns, highlighting the key functional role of this neuron. However, the pattern of the membrane depolarization during singing, the fine dendritic and axonal ramifications and the number of dye-coupled neurons, indicate species-specific adaptations of the neuronal network, which might be closely linked to the evolution of species-specific singing.
Keywords
activity patterns, evolutionary neurobiology, neuronal mechanisms, singing CPG, species-specific behavior
Sponsorship
BBSRC
Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme
Funder references
BBSRC (BB/G018723/1)
BBSRC (BB/F008783/1)
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1109-18.2018
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/287922
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