Motor Patterns During Flight and Warm-up in Lepidoptera

1968 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-109
Author(s):  
ANN E. KAMMER
Keyword(s):  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Motor Units ◽  
Wingbeat Frequency ◽  
Motor Patterns ◽  
Flight Pattern ◽  
Warm Up ◽  
Burst Length ◽  
Synergistic Muscles ◽  
Phase Relationships

1. The patterns of muscle activity during warm-up were compared to those of flight. In the skipper Hylephila phylaeus and in the hawk moths Celerio lineata and Mimas tiliae the intervals between bursts of muscle potentials are the same as the wingbeat periods of flight at the same thoracic temperature, and the burst length is the same as in flight. In saturniids the period and burst length are both shorter during wing-vibrating than during flight. 2. During wing-vibrating the amplitude of the wing movement is small, and some of the muscles which are antagonists in flight are active simultaneously. In Hylephila phylaeus and Celerio lineata there is a phase change between some synergistic muscles, while some antagonistic pairs retain the phase relationships of flight. During wing-vibrating in Mimas tiliae and in saturniids all the motor units sampled were active at the same time. 3. In M. tiliae a variety of phase relationships intermediate between those of wing-vibrating and flight were observed, including a case of ‘relative co-ordination’ between motor units in the mesothorax. The results exclude the possibility that a single pace-making centre drives the motor neurons in the flight pattern. 4. A model of the central nervous interactions which generate the observed motor patterns is proposed. It is postulated that a small group of positively coupled neurons produces bursts of impulses at the wingbeat frequency and that these groups interact to generate the phase relationships seen during warm-up and flight.

Neural Mechanism by Which Controlling Inputs Influence Motor Output in the Flying Locust

1967 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-228
Author(s):  
INGRID WALDRON
Keyword(s):  
Motor Neuron ◽  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Neural Mechanism ◽  
Sensory Nerves ◽  
Rapid Variation ◽  
Flight Pattern ◽  
Burst Length ◽  
Rapid Changes ◽  
Length Changes ◽  
Individual Motor

1. The central nervous system of the flying locust generates a pattern of alternating bursts of impulses in the elevator and depressor motor neurons (Wilson, 1961). The mechanism by which controlling inputs modify this output pattern is analysed in this paper. 2. During roll turns and other flight manoeuvres the average number of impulses per burst (average burst length) changes in certain motor neurons. Changes in average burst length develop slowly, over tens of wingbeat cycles, even in response to the abrupt changes in input which result from electrical stimulation of sensory nerves. 3. In addition to the slow changes in average burst length which are elicited by controlling inputs, more rapid changes in burst length sometimes occur. During this rapid variation a longer burst is usually followed by a shorter burst, probably because the motor neuron is less excitable after a longer burst of activity. Burst length varies independently in different motor neurons. Both findings suggest that much of the rapid variation in burst length is due to changes occurring within the individual motor neurons, and is not a response to rapid changes in controlling inputs. 4. Under all conditions, changes in the number of impulses per burst are correlated with small changes in the relative timing of the burst; the longer bursts produced by a motor neuron begin slightly earlier in the wingbeat cycle. This implies that the factors which cause variation in the length of the bursts are also responsible for producing the variation in the timing of the bursts. 5. All of the observations can be explained on one assumption: that the only effect of controlling inputs is to cause slow changes in the ‘average excitation’ of individual motor neurons. Thus sensory and central control of the flight pattern generating system appears to be slow control over the average performance, rather than fast control over performance in a particular cycle.

Muscle Activity During Flight in Some large Lepidoptera

1967 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-295
Author(s):  
ANN E. KAMMER
Keyword(s):  
Motor Unit ◽  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Sensory Nerves ◽  
Single Model ◽  
Motor Patterns ◽  
Wing Movement ◽  
Burst Length ◽  
Partial Amputation ◽  
Flight Muscles ◽  
Stroke Amplitude

1. The names and functions of the main mesothoracic flight muscles in Lepidoptera are reviewed. 2. The wingbeat period in saturniid moths and monarch butterflies is long and variable. The three parameters, wingbeat period, burst length (number of times a motor unit is activated per wingstroke) and stroke amplitude are interdependent and positively correlated. 3. Partial amputation of the wings in saturniids decreases wingbeat period. Cutting the sensory nerves from the wings increases the period. These results indicate that the influence of wing movement on wingbeat period is mediated by receptors near the base of the wing. 4. The central nervous mechanisms which generate motor patterns during flight in Lepidoptera are discussed and compared with those in locusts. It is proposed that both mechanisms can be described by a single model, with minor differences in the mechanism of burst production.

Functional aspects of flight in belostomatid bugs (Heteroptera)

1966 ◽  
Vol 164 (994) ◽  
pp. 21-39 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Spike Activity ◽  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Beat Frequency ◽  
Motor Units ◽  
Nerve Trunk ◽  
The Other ◽  
Wing Beat ◽  
Wing Beat Frequency ◽  
Flight Muscles

1. There are four pairs of fibrillar muscles in the mesothorax of the Belostomatidae. The dorsal longitudinal muscles provide power for the downstroke and automatic pronation of the wings. The dorso-ventral muscles provide upstroke power and automatic supination. The oblique dorsal muscles act mainly as wing supinators; they are also important in the wing unlocking process. The fourth pair of fibrillar flight muscles are basalars which act indirectly via an insertion on the pre-episterna; their action is that of an accessory wing depressor and pronator. The only direct flight muscles in the mesothorax are the tonic wing-folding muscles which insert on the third axillary sclerites. There are no fibrillar flight muscles in the metathorax. 2. The pterothorax contains a fused meso- and metathoracic ganglion. The most anterior nerve trunk from this ganglion provides the motor supply to the dorsal longitudinal and oblique dorsal muscles. There are no recurrent nerves between pro- and pterothoracic ganglia, yet some of the motor neurons of the dorsal longitudinal and oblique dorsal muscles are located anterior to the pterothoracic ganglion. This is not true of the motor neurons of any of the other pterothoracic muscles. There are at least three motor units in each oblique dorsal muscle and five or more in each dorsal longitudinal muscle. The anterior nerve trunk of the pterothoracic ganglion also supplies a sensory nerve to the wings and a small nerve which sup­plies the mesothoracic scolopophorous organ which probably monitors the flight rhythm. The second nerve trunk of the pterothoracic ganglion supplies all of the other mesothoracic muscles and sends one nerve to the mesothoracic legs. 3. Wing-beat frequency for a specimen of L. maximus 105 mm long and weighing 23·4 g was 21-25/s at 23-24°C. For Hydrocyrius 57 mm long and weighing 2·9 g wing beat was 30/s. For L. uhleri typical values are 42 mm long, 1·7 g weight and wing-beat frequency of 38/s. 4. The fibrillar muscles all display strong spike activity coincident with wing opening. The wings may be held open indefinitely without flight and fibrillar muscle activity then subsides to a lower level within a few seconds. Once open, the wings may be held open in the absence of any muscle activity. When flight is initiated directly from closed wings a phasic burst of spikes is recorded initially from the fibrillar muscles but this subsides quickly to a lower level characteristic of steady flight. When flight is initiated from open wings and these muscles are already active electrically there is no change in pattern of spike activity signalling start of flight. In steady flight the pattern of spike activity is irregular and bears no temporal rela­tionship to the regular wing beat. The activity of motor units from each muscle of a pair or from different fibrillar muscles also show random temporal relationships.

Mechanisms for the Production of the Motor Output Pattern in Flying Locusts

1967 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-212
Author(s):  
INGRID WALDRON
Keyword(s):  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Sensory Input ◽  
Functional Integration ◽  
Motor Units ◽  
Reciprocal Relationship ◽  
Neuron Activity ◽  
Flight Pattern ◽  
Output Pattern ◽  
Inhibitory Coupling ◽  
Relationship Of

1. The normal flight pattern consists of alternating bursts of activity in the elevator and depressor motor neurons. However, when sensory input depresses elevator activity, rhythmic bursts of activity in the depressor motor neurons may continue even after all elevator motor neuron activity has apparently ceased. Thus interactions between the antagonistic motor neurons apparently are not necessary for the production of the rhythmic bursts. The proposed mechanism for producing these rhythmic bursts depends on the excitatory interactions among the synergistic motor neurons. Alternative or supplementary explanations for the data seem to be possible only if interneurons participate in the generation of the flight pattern. 2. During flight initiation, when there is a burst of activity in several depressor motor units simultaneously there usually is a pause in the on-going elevator activity; often the normal flight pattern begins at this time. This reciprocal relationship of activity in the antagonists suggests inhibitory coupling between antagonistic motor neurons or between interneurons which may drive them. This coupling may be responsible for the alternation of the bursts of activity in the antagonists during normal flight. 3. There is no evidence for greater co-ordination within a thoracic ganglion than between ganglia. Some activity in the abdominal C.N.S. is also well co-ordinated with the flight pattern. Thus the anatomical separation into ganglia does not correspond to any interruption of the functional integration of the flight system.

Bifunctional Muscles in the Thorax of Grasshoppers

1962 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 669-677
Author(s):  
DONALD M. WILSON
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Activity ◽  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Motor Units ◽  
Flight Pattern ◽  
Fixed Set ◽  
Complete Independence

1. Recording electrical activity of certain dorso-ventral muscles in the thorax of grasshoppers has shown that the same muscles and (in at least one muscle) the same motor units may be used to move either the wings or the legs. 2. The anatomical connexions are such that muscles which are antagonists with respect to the wings are synergists with respect to the legs, and vice versa. 3. These muscles, which operate in a nearly perfectly repeating, fixed pattern during flight, show complete independence during manœuvres involving the legs and it is concluded that the flight pattern is not due to a fixed set of connexions between the motor neurons.

Effects of Whole Body Vibration on the Horse: Actual Vibration, Muscle Activity, and Warm-up Effect

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 54-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heinz Hans Florian Buchner ◽  
Lisa Zimmer ◽  
Louisa Haase ◽  
Justine Perrier ◽  
Christian Peham
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Whole Body Vibration ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Warm Up ◽  
Body Vibration

Brain stem integration of vocalization: role of the midbrain periaqueductal gray

1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 1337-1356 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. P. Zhang ◽  
P. J. Davis ◽  
R. Bandler ◽  
P. Carrive
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Sound Production ◽  
Type A ◽  
Periaqueductal Gray ◽  
Emg Activity ◽  
Digastric Muscle ◽  
Type B ◽  
Motor Patterns ◽  
Homocysteic Acid ◽  
Lower Amplitude

1. The contribution of the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG) to the central regulation of vocalization was investigated by analyzing the electromyographic (EMG) changes in respiratory, laryngeal, and oral muscles evoked by microinjection of D,L-homocysteic acid (DLH) in the PAG of unanesthetized, precollicular decerebrate cats. Moderate to large (6-40 nmol) doses of DLH evoked natural-sounding vocalization as well as increases in inspiratory depth and respiratory rate. 2. Two basic types of vocalization were evoked, each associated with a distinct and characteristic pattern of respiratory, laryngeal and oral EMG changes. Type A vocalization (voiced sounds such as howl/mew/growl) was characterized by excitation of the cricothyroid (CT) and thyro-arytenoid (TA) muscles, and inhibition of the posterior crico-arytenoid (PCA) muscle, whereas type B vocalization (unvoiced hiss sounds) was characterized by excitation of the PCA and TA muscles and no significant activation of the CT muscle. In addition, stronger expiratory (external oblique, internal oblique, internal intercostal) EMG increases were associated with type A responses, and larger increases in genioglossus and digastric muscle activity were associated with type B responses. 3. Microinjections of small doses of DLH (300 pmol-3 nmol), also evoked patterned changes in muscle activity (usually without audible vocalization) that, although of lower amplitude, were identical to those evoked by injections of moderate to large DLH doses. In no such experiments (175 sites) were individual muscles activated by small dose injections of DLH into the PAG. Further, type A vocalization/muscle patterns were evoked from PAG sites caudal to those at which type B vocalization/muscle patterns were evoked. 4. Considered together these results indicate: that the PAG contains topographically separable groups of neurons that coordinate laryngeal, respiratory, and oral muscle patterns characteristic of two fundamental types of vocalization and that the underlying PAG organization takes the form of a representation of muscle patterns, rather than individual muscles. 5. The patterns of EMG activity evoked by excitation of PAG neurons were strikingly similar to previously reported patterns of EMG activity characteristic of major phonatory categories in higher species, including humans (e.g., vowel phonation, voiceless consonant phonation). These findings raise the possibility that the sound production circuitry of the PAG could well be utilized by cortical and subcortical "language structures" to coordinate basic respiratory and laryngeal motor patterns that are necessary for speech.

Temperature Dependence of the Neural Control of the Moth Flight System

1970 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 629-639
Author(s):  
JAMES L. HANEGAN ◽  
JAMES EDWARD HEATH
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Dependence ◽  
Neural Control ◽  
Motor Pattern ◽  
Motor Output ◽  
Flight Pattern ◽  
Flight System ◽  
Warm Up ◽  
Thoracic Ganglia ◽  
Flight Motor

1. The transition from the warm-up motor pattern to the flight motor pattern in the saturnid moth H. cecropia, is described. 2. The transition from warm-up to flight was found to be dependent on the temperature of the thoracic ganglia. 3. A model to account for the two different motor output patterns and the transition of the warm-up pattern to the flight pattern is proposed.

Peptidergic modulation of a multioscillator system in the lobster. I. Activation of the cardiac sac motor pattern by the neuropeptides proctolin and red pigment-concentrating hormone

1989 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 833-844 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. S. Dickinson ◽  
E. Marder
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Motor Pattern ◽  
Stomatogastric Ganglion ◽  
Red Pigment ◽  
Stomatogastric Nervous System ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Motor Patterns ◽  
Neuronal Element

1. The cardiac sac motor pattern consists of slow and irregular impulse bursts in the motor neurons [cardiac sac dilator 1 and 2 (CD1 and CD2)] that innervate the dilator muscles of the cardiac sac region of the crustacean foregut. 2. The effects of the peptides, proctolin and red pigment-concentrating hormone (RPCH), on the cardiac sac motor patterns produced by in vitro preparations of the combined stomatogastric nervous system [the stomatogastric ganglion (STG), the paired commissural ganglia (CGs), and the oesophageal ganglion (OG)] were studied. 3. Bath applications of either RPCH or proctolin activated the cardiac sac motor pattern when this motor pattern was not already active and increased the frequency of the cardiac sac motor pattern in slowly active preparations. 4. The somata of CD1 and CD2 are located in the esophageal and stomatogastric ganglia, respectively. Both neurons project to all four of the ganglia of the stomatogastric nervous system. RPCH elicited cardiac sac motor patterns when applied to any region of the stomatogastric nervous system, suggesting a distributed pattern generating network with multiple sites of modulation. 5. The anterior median (AM) neuron innervates the constrictor muscles of the cardiac sac. The AM usually functions as a part of the gastric mill pattern generator. However, when the cardiac sac is activated by RPCH applied to the stomatogastric ganglion, the AM neuron becomes active in antiphase with the cardiac sac dilator bursts. This converts the cardiac sac motor pattern from a one-phase rhythm to a two-phase rhythm. 6. These data show that a neuropeptide can cause a neuronal element to switch from being solely a component of one neuronal circuit to functioning in a second one as well. This example shows that peptidergic "reconfiguration" of neuronal networks can produce substantial changes in the behavior of associated neurons.

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