Integration of ultrasound and flight inputs on descending neurons in the cricket brain

Descending brain neurons in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus (de Geer): auditory responses and impact on walking

The activity of four types of sound-sensitive descending brain neurons in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus was recorded intracellularly while animals were standing or walking on an open-loop trackball system. In a neuron with a contralaterally descending axon, the male calling song elicited responses that copied the pulse pattern of the song during standing and walking. The accuracy of pulse copying increased during walking. Neurons with ipsilaterally descending axons responded weakly to sound only during standing. The responses were mainly to the first pulse of each chirp, whereas the complete pulse pattern of a chirp was not copied. During walking the auditory responses were suppressed in these neurons. The spiking activity of all four neuron types was significantly correlated to forward walking velocity, indicating their relevance for walking. Additionally, injection of depolarizing current elicited walking and/or steering in three of four neuron types described. In none of the neurons was the spiking activity both sufficient and necessary to elicit and maintain walking behaviour. Some neurons showed arborisations in the lateral accessory lobes, pointing to the relevance of this brain region for cricket audition and descending motor control.

Front leg movements and tibial motoneurons underlying auditory steering in the cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus deGeer)

Front leg movements in the cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus) were measured during phonotactic steering on a trackball together with electromyogram recordings of the tibial extensor and flexor muscles. Up-down leg movements clearly indicated the step cycle and were independent of auditory stimulation. By contrast, left-right movements of the front leg were dependent on sound direction, with crickets performing rapid steering leg movements towards the active speaker. Steering movements were dependent on the phase of sound relative to the step cycle, and were greatest for sounds occurring during the swing phase. During phonotaxis the slow extensor tibiae motoneuron responded to ipsilateral sounds with a latency of 35-40 ms, whereas the fast flexor tibiae motoneurons were excited by contralateral sound. We made intracellular recordings of two tibial extensor and at least eight flexor motoneurons. The fast extensor tibiae, the slow extensor tibiae and one fast flexor tibiae motoneurons were individually identifiable, but a group of at least four fast flexor tibiae as well as at least three slow flexor tibiae motoneurons of highly similar morphology could not be distinguished. Motoneurons received descending inputs from cephalic ganglia and from local prothoracic networks. There was no overlap between the dendritic fields of the tibial motoneurons and the auditory neuropile. They did not respond to auditory stimulation at rest. Neither extracellular stimulation of descending pathways nor pharmacological activation of prothoracic motor networks changed the auditory responsiveness. Therefore, any auditory input to tibial motoneurons is likely to be indirect, possibly via the brain.