Responses of protocerebral neurons in Manduca sexta to sex-pheromone mixtures.

ABSTRACT: Male Manduca sexta moths are attracted to a mixture of two components of the female's sex pheromone at the natural concentration ratio. Deviation from this ratio results in reduced attraction. Projection neurons innervating prominent male-specific glomeruli in the male's antennal lobe produce maximal synchronized spiking activity in response to synthetic mixtures of the two components centering around the natural ratio, suggesting that behaviorally effective mixture ratios are encoded by synchronous neuronal activity. We investigated the physiological activity and morphology of downstream protocerebral neurons that responded to antennal stimulation with single pheromone components and their mixtures at various concentration ratios. Among the tested neurons, only a few gave stronger respons

SUBMITTER: Lei H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3805782 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature