Immunocytochemical characterization of the accessory medulla in the cockroach Leucophaea maderae

1995 ◽  
Vol 282 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard Petri ◽  
Monika Stengl ◽  
Stefan W�rden ◽  
Uwe Homberg
Keyword(s):  
Accessory Medulla ◽  
Leucophaea Maderae

Immunocytochemical characterization of the accessory medulla in the cockroach Leucophaea maderae

1995 ◽  
Vol 282 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard Petri ◽  
Monika Stengl ◽  
Stefan W�rden ◽  
Uwe Homberg
Keyword(s):  
Accessory Medulla ◽  
Leucophaea Maderae

Immunocytochemical localization and immunochemical characterization of an insulin-related peptide in the insect Leucophaea maderae

1990 ◽  
Vol 259 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg N�rgaard Hansen ◽  
Bente Langvad Hansen ◽  
Peer Nobert J�rgensen ◽  
Berta Scharrer
Keyword(s):  
Immunocytochemical Localization ◽  
Immunochemical Characterization ◽  
Related Peptide ◽  
Leucophaea Maderae

Gap Junctions Between Accessory Medulla Neurons Appear to Synchronize Circadian Clock Cells of the Cockroach Leucophaea maderae

2006 ◽  
Vol 95 (3) ◽  
pp. 1996-2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils-Lasse Schneider ◽  
Monika Stengl
Keyword(s):  
Gap Junctions ◽  
Circadian Clock ◽  
Phase Difference ◽  
Temporal Organization ◽  
Stable Phase ◽  
Circadian Pacemaker ◽  
Potential Oscillations ◽  
Synaptic Release ◽  
Accessory Medulla ◽  
Leucophaea Maderae

The temporal organization of physiological and behavioral states is controlled by circadian clocks in apparently all eukaryotic organisms. In the cockroach Leucophaea maderae lesion and transplantation studies located the circadian pacemaker in the accessory medulla (AMe). The AMe is densely innervated by γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)–immunoreactive and peptidergic neurons, among them the pigment-dispersing factor immunoreactive circadian pacemaker candidates. The large majority of cells of the cockroach AMe spike regularly and synchronously in the gamma frequency range of 25–70 Hz as a result of synaptic and nonsynaptic coupling. Although GABAergic coupling forms assemblies of phase-locked cells, in the absence of synaptic release the cells remain synchronized but fire now at a stable phase difference. To determine whether these coupling mechanisms of AMe neurons, which are independent of synaptic release, are based on electrical synapses between the circadian pacemaker cells the gap-junction blockers halothane, octanol, and carbenoxolone were used in the presence and absence of synaptic transmission. Here, we show that different populations of AMe neurons appear to be coupled by gap junctions to maintain synchrony at a stable phase difference. This synchronization by gap junctions is a prerequisite to phase-locked assembly formation by synaptic interactions and to synchronous gamma-type action potential oscillations within the circadian clock.

scholarly journals Light Affects the Branching Pattern of Peptidergic Circadian Pacemaker Neurons in the Brain of the Cockroach Leucophaea maderae

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 507-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongying Wei ◽  
Monika Stengl
Keyword(s):  
Fruit Flies ◽  
Branching Pattern ◽  
Circadian Pacemaker ◽  
Pacemaker Neurons ◽  
Optic Lobes ◽  
Pigment Dispersing Factor ◽  
Accessory Medulla ◽  
Leucophaea Maderae ◽  
The Brain

Pigment-dispersing factor–immunoreactive neurons anterior to the accessory medulla (aPDFMes) in the optic lobes of insects are circadian pacemaker neurons in cockroaches and fruit flies. The authors examined whether any of the aPDFMes of the cockroach Leucophaea maderae are sensitive to changes in period and photoperiod of light/dark (LD) cycles as a prerequisite to adapt to changes in external rhythms. Cockroaches were raised in LD cycles of 11:11, 13:13, 12:12, 6:18, or 18:6 h, and the brains of the adults were examined with immunocytochemistry employing antisera against PDF and orcokinin. Indeed, in 11:11 LD cycles, only the number of medium-sized aPDFMes specifically decreased, while it increased in 13:13. In addition, 18:6 LD cycles increased the number of large- and medium-sized aPDFMes, as well as the posterior pPDFMes, while 6:18 LD cycles only decreased the number of medium-sized aPDFMes. Furthermore, PDF-immunoreactive fibers in the anterior optic commissure and orcokinin-immunoreactive fibers in both the anterior and posterior optic commissures were affected by different lengths of light cycles. Thus, apparently different groups of the PDFMes, most of all the medium-sized aPDFMes, which colocalize orcokinin, respond to changes in period and photoperiod and could possibly allow for the adjustment to different photoperiods.

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