How polarization-sensitive interneurones of crickets see the polarization pattern of the sky: a field study with an opto-electronic model neurone

1999 ◽  
Vol 202 (7) ◽  
pp. 757-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Labhart
Keyword(s):  
Compound Eye ◽  
Polarized Light ◽  
Meteorological Conditions ◽  
Polarization Pattern ◽  
Directional Information ◽  
Polarization Signal ◽  
Physiological Properties ◽  
Electronic Model ◽  
Gryllus Campestris ◽  
Low Pass

Many insects gain directional information from the polarization pattern of the sky. Polarization vision is mediated by the specialized ommatidia of the dorsal rim area of the compound eye, which contains highly polarization-sensitive photoreceptors. In crickets Gryllus campestris, polarized light information conveyed by the dorsal rim ommatidia was found to be processed by polarization-opponent interneurones (POL-neurones). In this study, a field-proof opto-electronic model of a POL-neurone was constructed that implements the physiological properties of cricket POL-neurones as measured by previous electrophysiological experiments in the laboratory. Using this model neurone, both the strength of the celestial polarization signal and the directional information available to POL-neurones were assessed under a variety of meteorological conditions. We show that the polarization signal as experienced by cricket POL-neurones is very robust, both because of the special filtering properties of these neurones (polarization-antagonism, spatial low-pass, monochromacy) and because of the relatively stable e-vector pattern of the sky.

scholarly journals Heading choices of flying Drosophila under changing angles of polarized light

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas F. Mathejczyk ◽  
Mathias F. Wernet
Keyword(s):  
Incident Angle ◽  
Polarized Light ◽  
Green Light ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Open Loop ◽  
Slow Rotation ◽  
Visually Guided ◽  
Polarization Pattern ◽  
Linearly Polarized ◽  
3D Printed

AbstractMany navigating insects include the celestial polarization pattern as an additional visual cue to orient their travels. Spontaneous orientation responses of both walking and flying fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) to linearly polarized light have previously been demonstrated. Using newly designed modular flight arenas consisting entirely of off-the-shelf parts and 3D-printed components we present individual flying flies with a slow and continuous rotational change in the incident angle of linear polarization. Under such open-loop conditions, single flies choose arbitrary headings with respect to the angle of polarized light and show a clear tendency to maintain those chosen headings for several minutes, thereby adjusting their course to the slow rotation of the incident stimulus. Importantly, flies show the tendency to maintain a chosen heading even when two individual test periods under a linearly polarized stimulus are interrupted by an epoch of unpolarized light lasting several minutes. Finally, we show that these behavioral responses are wavelength-specific, existing under polarized UV stimulus while being absent under polarized green light. Taken together, these findings provide further evidence supporting Drosophila’s abilities to use celestial cues for visually guided navigation and course correction.

scholarly journals Polarized light use in the nocturnal bull ant, Myrmecia midas

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (8) ◽  
pp. 170598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cody A. Freas ◽  
Ajay Narendra ◽  
Corentin Lemesle ◽  
Ken Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Polarized Light ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Light Change ◽  
Polarization Pattern ◽  
Returning Home

Solitary foraging ants have a navigational toolkit, which includes the use of both terrestrial and celestial visual cues, allowing individuals to successfully pilot between food sources and their nest. One such celestial cue is the polarization pattern in the overhead sky. Here, we explore the use of polarized light during outbound and inbound journeys and with different home vectors in the nocturnal bull ant, Myrmecia midas . We tested foragers on both portions of the foraging trip by rotating the overhead polarization pattern by ±45°. Both outbound and inbound foragers responded to the polarized light change, but the extent to which they responded to the rotation varied. Outbound ants, both close to and further from the nest, compensated for the change in the overhead e-vector by about half of the manipulation, suggesting that outbound ants choose a compromise heading between the celestial and terrestrial compass cues. However, ants returning home compensated for the change in the e-vector by about half of the manipulation when the remaining home vector was short (1−2 m) and by more than half of the manipulation when the remaining vector was long (more than 4 m). We report these findings and discuss why weighting on polarization cues change in different contexts.

scholarly journals Honeybee navigation: following routes using polarized-light cues

2011 ◽  
Vol 366 (1565) ◽  
pp. 703-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Kraft ◽  
C. Evangelista ◽  
M. Dacke ◽  
T. Labhart ◽  
M. V. Srinivasan
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Food Source ◽  
Polarized Light ◽  
Light Illumination ◽  
Directional Information ◽  
First Time ◽  
Behavioural Evidence ◽  
Do So

While it is generally accepted that honeybees ( Apis mellifera ) are capable of using the pattern of polarized light in the sky to navigate to a food source, there is little or no direct behavioural evidence that they actually do so. We have examined whether bees can be trained to find their way through a maze composed of four interconnected tunnels, by using directional information provided by polarized light illumination from the ceilings of the tunnels. The results show that bees can learn this task, thus demonstrating directly, and for the first time, that bees are indeed capable of using the polarized-light information in the sky as a compass to steer their way to a food source.

The tiered retina of Dytiscus : a new type of compound eye

1970 ◽  
Vol 175 (1038) ◽  
pp. 83-94 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Compound Eye ◽  
Electrical Coupling ◽  
Polarized Light ◽  
Light Sensitivity ◽  
Sectional Area ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Light Passing ◽  
Small Fields ◽  
New Type ◽  
Different Levels

The retina of Dytiscus is tiered, with proximal and distal layers of receptors at different levels. Photoreceptor units of the proximal retina of the eye of Dytiscus have fields of view so wide that light entering by any facet is able to excite a receptor belonging virtually to any ommatidium in the light- or dark-adapted eye. Although the distal rhabdomeres may have small fields of view, the proximal retina is clearly not adapted for perception of form or movement. The sensitivity of proximal retinula units is compatible with the observations that light passing through many facets sums upon them and that their rhabdomeres are relatively large and jointly occupy the whole cross-sectional area of the eye. The lack of polarized light sensitivity of the proximal retinula units can be attributed to electrical coupling between cells with tubules oriented in different directions within each ommatidium.

scholarly journals Homothorax controls a binary Rhodopsin switch in Drosophila ocelli

PLoS Genetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. e1009460
Author(s):  
Abhishek Kumar Mishra ◽  
Cornelia Fritsch ◽  
Roumen Voutev ◽  
Richard S. Mann ◽  
Simon G. Sprecher
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Visual Perception ◽  
Compound Eye ◽  
Polarized Light ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Compound Eyes ◽  
Ancestral Gene ◽  
Evolutionary Diversification ◽  
Opsin Genes ◽  
A Cell

Visual perception of the environment is mediated by specialized photoreceptor (PR) neurons of the eye. Each PR expresses photosensitive opsins, which are activated by a particular wavelength of light. In most insects, the visual system comprises a pair of compound eyes that are mainly associated with motion, color or polarized light detection, and a triplet of ocelli that are thought to be critical during flight to detect horizon and movements. It is widely believed that the evolutionary diversification of compound eye and ocelli in insects occurred from an ancestral visual organ around 500 million years ago. Concurrently, opsin genes were also duplicated to provide distinct spectral sensitivities to different PRs of compound eye and ocelli. In the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, Rhodopsin1 (Rh1) and Rh2 are closely related opsins that originated from the duplication of a single ancestral gene. However, in the visual organs, Rh2 is uniquely expressed in ocelli whereas Rh1 is uniquely expressed in outer PRs of the compound eye. It is currently unknown how this differential expression of Rh1 and Rh2 in the two visual organs is controlled to provide unique spectral sensitivities to ocelli and compound eyes. Here, we show that Homothorax (Hth) is expressed in ocelli and confers proper rhodopsin expression. We find that Hth controls a binary Rhodopsin switch in ocelli to promote Rh2 expression and repress Rh1 expression. Genetic and molecular analysis of rh1 and rh2 supports that Hth acts through their promoters to regulate Rhodopsin expression in the ocelli. Finally, we also show that when ectopically expressed in the retina, hth is sufficient to induce Rh2 expression only at the outer PRs in a cell autonomous manner. We therefore propose that the diversification of rhodpsins in the ocelli and retinal outer PRs occurred by duplication of an ancestral gene, which is under the control of Homothorax.

Polarization vision in cuttlefish in a concealed communication channel?

1996 ◽  
Vol 199 (9) ◽  
pp. 2077-2084
Author(s):  
N Shashar ◽  
P Rutledge ◽  
T Cronin
Keyword(s):  
Polarized Light ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Polarization Sensitivity ◽  
Polarization Vision ◽  
Microscopical Examination ◽  
Polarization Pattern ◽  
Behavioral Experiments ◽  
Marine Animals ◽  
Linearly Polarized ◽  
Electron Microscopical

Polarization sensitivity is well documented in marine animals, but its function is not yet well understood. Of the cephalopods, squid and octopus are known to be sensitive to the orientation of polarization of incoming light. This sensitivity arises from the orthogonal orientation of neighboring photoreceptors. Electron microscopical examination of the retina of the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis L. revealed the same orthogonal structure, suggesting that cuttlefish are also sensitive to linearly polarized light. Viewing cuttlefish through an imaging polarized light analyzer revealed a prominent polarization pattern on the arms, around the eyes and on the forehead of the animals. The polarization pattern disappeared when individuals lay camouflaged on the bottom and also during extreme aggression display, attacks on prey, copulation and egg-laying behavior in females. In behavioral experiments, the responses of cuttlefish to their images reflected from a mirror changed when the polarization patterns of the reflected images were distorted. These results suggest that cuttlefish use polarization vision and display for intraspecific recognition and communication.

POLARIZED LIGHT AND BODY TEMPERATURE LEVEL AS ORIENTATION FACTORS IN THE LIGHT REACTIONS OF SOME HYMENOPTEROUS AND LEPIDOPTEROUS LARVAE

1951 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 339-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. G. Wellington ◽  
C. R. Sullivan ◽  
G. W. Green
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Choristoneura Fumiferana ◽  
Polarized Light ◽  
The Other ◽  
Malacosoma Disstria ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
Polarization Pattern ◽  
Internal Temperature ◽  
Temperature Level

Larvae of the diprionid sawfly, Neodiprion banksianae Roh., the lasiocampid, Malacosoma disstria Hbn., and the tortricid, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), were used to demonstrate the effects of heat and of plane-polarized light upon the photic orientation of immature insects. Photic orientation was shown to be primarily a result of internal temperature level. When larvae were heated sufficiently, they reversed the sign of their orientation. Larvae of the three species were sensitive to variations in the plane of polarization, and they used the polarization pattern of the sky to varying degrees in their orientation. Neodiprion larvae orientated primarily with reference to the polarization pattern when one was available. Malacosoma larvae and photonegative Choristoneura larvae appeared to orientate with reference to the position of the sun, but rotation of the axis of a "Polaroid" screen through 90° could change the direction of their travel by this amount. On the other hand, photonegative Choristoneura larvae subjected to a 90° shift of the axis continued to orientate with reference to the solar compass position when the sun was visible, even when their actions under the "Polaroid" showed that they could detect changes in polarization. The type of eye structure, the number of pairs of eyes, and the position of these on hypognathous and prognathous heads are considered to have some influence upon the different degrees of efficiency in orientation. Smoke and ice crystal cloud affected the orientation of the "Polaroid" axis that would produce a response, notably when the sun was obscured. Water droplet cloud had little effect, except in a complete overcast, under which polarization was disrupted.

scholarly journals Stellate cell computational modeling predicts signal filtering in the molecular layer circuit of cerebellum

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Francesca Rizza ◽  
Francesca Locatelli ◽  
Stefano Masoli ◽  
Diana Sánchez-Ponce ◽  
Alberto Muñoz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Purkinje Cell ◽  
Stellate Cell ◽  
Molecular Layer ◽  
Stellate Cells ◽  
Parallel Fiber ◽  
Cell Discharge ◽  
Physiological Properties ◽  
Low Pass ◽  
Band Pass ◽  
Very High Frequencies

AbstractThe functional properties of cerebellar stellate cells and the way they regulate molecular layer activity are still unclear. We have measured stellate cells electroresponsiveness and their activation by parallel fiber bursts. Stellate cells showed intrinsic pacemaking, along with characteristic responses to depolarization and hyperpolarization, and showed a marked short-term facilitation during repetitive parallel fiber transmission. Spikes were emitted after a lag and only at high frequency, making stellate cells to operate as delay-high-pass filters. A detailed computational model summarizing these physiological properties allowed to explore different functional configurations of the parallel fiber—stellate cell—Purkinje cell circuit. Simulations showed that, following parallel fiber stimulation, Purkinje cells almost linearly increased their response with input frequency, but such an increase was inhibited by stellate cells, which leveled the Purkinje cell gain curve to its 4 Hz value. When reciprocal inhibitory connections between stellate cells were activated, the control of stellate cells over Purkinje cell discharge was maintained only at very high frequencies. These simulations thus predict a new role for stellate cells, which could endow the molecular layer with low-pass and band-pass filtering properties regulating Purkinje cell gain and, along with this, also burst delay and the burst-pause responses pattern.

scholarly journals Matched-filter coding of sky polarization results in an internal sun compass in the brain of the desert locust

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (41) ◽  
pp. 25810-25817
Author(s):  
Frederick Zittrell ◽  
Keram Pfeiffer ◽  
Uwe Homberg
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Orientation ◽  
Matched Filter ◽  
Polarized Light ◽  
Central Complex ◽  
Insect Brain ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Polarization Pattern ◽  
Sun Compass ◽  
Small Spot ◽  
Polarization Compass

Many animals use celestial cues for spatial orientation. These include the sun and, in insects, the polarization pattern of the sky, which depends on the position of the sun. The central complex in the insect brain plays a key role in spatial orientation. In desert locusts, the angle of polarized light in the zenith above the animal and the direction of a simulated sun are represented in a compass-like fashion in the central complex, but how both compasses fit together for a unified representation of external space remained unclear. To address this question, we analyzed the sensitivity of intracellularly recorded central-complex neurons to the angle of polarized light presented from up to 33 positions in the animal’s dorsal visual field and injected Neurobiotin tracer for cell identification. Neurons were polarization sensitive in large parts of the virtual sky that in some cells extended to the horizon in all directions. Neurons, moreover, were tuned to spatial patterns of polarization angles that matched the sky polarization pattern of particular sun positions. The horizontal components of these calculated solar positions were topographically encoded in the protocerebral bridge of the central complex covering 360° of space. This whole-sky polarization compass does not support the earlier reported polarization compass based on stimulation from a small spot above the animal but coincides well with the previously demonstrated direct sun compass based on unpolarized light stimulation. Therefore, direct sunlight and whole-sky polarization complement each other for robust head direction coding in the locust central complex.

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