AN INTRACELLULAR STUDY ON LOW-FREQUENCY ACOUSTIC-SIGNAL PROCESSING INLOCUST - STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE CERCUS-TO-GIANT INTERNEURON SYSTEM

The structure and function of the cercus-to-giant interneuron system r elevant to the reception of low-frequency sound, within the terminal a bdominal ganglion of the locust Locusta migratoria were revealed by us ing intracellular electrophysiological recording and dye labeling tech nique. This system consists of 4 bilateral pairs of the giant interneu rons (GIs 1-4). Each GI has distinct dendritic branching fields, posit ion of the soma, and location and orientation of its major axon. The c haracteristics of the system in response to low-frequency sound, such as discharge patterns. the relationships between response threshold-fr equency, intensity curves, and encoding of stimulus frequency, were al so studied. The role of the system in low-frequency sound communicatio n was discussed.