Structure and Function of the Insect Mushroom Body in Sensory and Motor Integration

昆虫的大脑包含一对显著的中心，被称为蘑菇体。这些结构涉及对取食和交配行为重要的气味的区分，解剖学上的组织被认为是本质上简单的布线模式的重复排列。最近的研究表明，蘑菇体在更广泛的功能中发挥着核心作用，包括视觉和嗅觉的整合、位置记忆和运动控制。除了这些不同的功能，蘑菇体的结构可能会有更多的内部划分为局部功能区域。这个项目结合了解剖学、生理学和行为学来研究唯一识别的神经细胞中的感觉信号，以及这些神经元与进一步处理路径的连接。一种新的标记方法将允许记录昆虫行为的单个神经元，并在以后恢复这些活跃的单个细胞的位置和形状。使用代表关键进化谱系的物种之间的比较方法，这些研究将澄清具有古老起源的大脑中心的组织基本规则。蘑菇体在整合感官信息导致行为行为方面的重要作用的展示，可能为这种昆虫在进化和生态上的非凡成功提供了一些基础。其影响将从神经科学延伸到生态学和进化论领域，也许还会延伸到农业中的虫害控制。

The brain of insects contains a prominent pair of centers known as the mushroom bodies. These structures have been implicated in discrimination of odors important for feeding and mating behavior, and the anatomical organization has been suggested to be a repeated arrangement of an essentially simple wiring pattern. More recent studies now suggest that the mushroom bodies play a central role in a much wider variety of functions, including integration of vision and smell, memory of place, and motor control. Along with these disparate functions, the structure of the mushroom bodies may have far more internal partitioning into locally functioning regions. This project uses a combination of anatomy, physiology, and behavior to examine the sensory signals in uniquely identified nerve cells, and the connections of these neurons to further processing pathways. A novel marking method will allow recording from single neurons in behaving insects, and later recovering the location and form of those active individual cells. Using a comparative approach among species representing key evolutionary lineages, these studies will clarify the organizational ground rules of a brain center that has ancient origins. The demonstration of important roles for the mushroom bodies in integrating sensory information leading to behavioral action may suggest some bases for the extraordinary evolutionary and ecological success of the insects. The impact will extend beyond neuroscience into areas of ecology and evolution, and perhaps also to pest control in agriculture.