COMPLEX MIXTURE DISCRIMINATION IN OLFACTORY SIGNALING

描述：(改编自《调查者摘要》) 嗅球是脊椎动物和 参与整合感觉信息的无脊椎动物神经通路 复杂的气味混合物。此前的研究表明，昆虫可以 研究肾小球功能作用的极佳模型。其中最 研究涉及到男性特有的性信息素处理途径 雄蛾触角叶的大肾小球复合体。嗅觉 MGC中的肾小球在大脑皮质的空间组织中起重要作用。 特定信息素成分的感觉轴突及其与 整合关键方面的特定局部中间神经元和投射神经元 指气味的质量、数量和间歇性。当前的目标 提案是测试关于感觉传入和感觉传入相互作用的假说 嗅球的中枢神经元类型，利用 触角成像盘在男女两性间的移植 向日葵蛾、烟草芽孢子虫、绿色向日葵和玉米 耳虫，玉米蛾。这两种昆虫一直是 对信息素混合辨别的广泛研究，以及 神经通路的电生理/解剖学研究 处理信息素信号。天线移植程序将允许 构建具有独特触角和行为反应的雄性和雌性 用于测试肾小球组织和行为模型的表型 气味质量的辨别。这些物种间的触角移植 代表了一种新的实验范式，用于研究 肾小球在嗅觉辨别中的结构和功能作用。

DESCRIPTION: (Adapted from the Investigator's Abstract) Olfactory glomeruli are the common functional elements in vertebrate and invertebrate neural pathways involved in integrating sensory information about complex odor mixtures. Previous studies have shown that insects can be excellent models for studying the functional role of glomeruli. One of the most studied involves the sex pheromone-processing pathways in the male-specific macroglomerular complex (MGC) of the antennal lobe of male moths. Olfactory glomeruli in the MGC are critically involved in the spatial organization of sensory axons for specific pheromone components and their interactions with specific local interneurons and projection neurons that integrate key aspects of odor quality, quantity, and intermittency. The objectives of the present proposal are to test hypotheses about the interactions of sensory afferents and central neuron types in the olfactory glomeruli, utilizing the technique of transplantation of antennal imaginal disks between males and females of two heliothine moths, the tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens, and the corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea. These two insect species have been the subject of extensive studies on pheromone blend discrimination, and electrophysiological/anatomical studies of neural pathways involved in processing the pheromone signal. The antennal transplant procedure will allow construction of males and females with unique antennal and behavioral response phenotypes to test a model for glomerular organization and behavioral discrimination of odor quality. These inter-species antennal transplants represent a new experimental paradigm for studying basic aspects of the structural and functional role of glomeruli in olfactory discrimination.