A neurobiological study of the stomatopod central complex
Loading...
Links to Files
Permanent Link
Author/Creator
Author/Creator ORCID
Date
2021-01-01
Type of Work
Department
Biological Sciences
Program
Biological Sciences
Citation of Original Publication
Rights
This item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. For permission to publish or reproduce, please see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/repro.php or contact Special Collections at speccoll(at)umbc.edu
Distribution Rights granted to UMBC by the author.
Access limited to the UMBC community. Item may possibly be obtained via Interlibrary Loan thorugh a local library, pending author/copyright holder's permission.
Distribution Rights granted to UMBC by the author.
Access limited to the UMBC community. Item may possibly be obtained via Interlibrary Loan thorugh a local library, pending author/copyright holder's permission.
Abstract
Since the seminal work of Nils Holmgren in the early 1900s, comparativeneuroanatomy in arthropods has contributed greatly to the functional and phylogenetic
understanding of neural circuits. The cerebral ganglion, better known as the brain, is
structurally and functionally differentiated from the rest of the arthropod nervous system.
It receives inputs both from anterior sensory organs as well as feedback through the ventral
nerve cord. Outputs from the cerebral ganglion are comprised of motor and pre-motor
commands, all of which coordinate to generate animal behaviors. One anatomical region
of great recent interest to invertebrate neurobiologists in the cerebral ganglion has been the
central complex (CX), a highly conserved group of midline neuropils. Characteristic
features of CX anatomy include discrete modules along the lateral axis, distinct layering,
and inter-hemispheric fiber organization. Most current understanding of the CX originates
from such insect species as locusts, crickets, flies, and cockroaches. Recent studies of these
insects have implicated the CX in sensory integration, motor coordination, spatial
orientation, visual memory, and various forms of arousal. However, the CX is almost
entirely unexplored in crustaceans � the paraphyletic group to insects � many of whom
have complex behaviors in their own right. Stomatopod crustaceans, also known as mantis shrimps, make up the eponymousStomatopoda, an order of marine arthropods famed for their destructive strikes and highly
developed sensory systems. In particular, their visual systems are unrivalled in complexity,
being capable of color vision, polarization vision, circular polarization vision, and motion
vision. Each of their trinocular eyes can move independently, a behavior that is unique
among arthropods, generating compelling questions about optic flow and its relation to
self-motion information and visually-guided behaviors. Additionally, their predatory strike
is among the fastest movements in the animal kingdom, delivering forces often compared
with 0.22-caliber rifle bullets. Given the complexity of stomatopod sensation and behavior,
my dissertations work has thus focused on investigating, via neuroanatomical methods, the
stomatopod central complex and drawing conclusions about the neural organization,
development, and connections therein.