1995 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Neural mechanism of mating behavior in the cricket
| Project/Area Number |
06640878
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
動物生理・代謝
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| Research Institution | Okayama University |
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Principal Investigator |
SAKAI Masaki Okayama Univ., Fac.Sci., Dept.Biol., Professor, 理学部, 教授 (30027502)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
YAMAGUCHI Tsuneo Okayama Univ., Fac.Sci., Dept.Biol., Professor, 理学部, 教授 (60000816)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1994 – 1995
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| Keywords | Insect / Cricket / Mating behavior / Switching / Neuron |
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| Research Abstract |
The aim of our study is to understand neural mechanism of instinct behavior in insects. Previously, we found that the male cricket became unresponsive to a female immediately after copulation and remained in that state for about 1 h and suggested that the switch and timer function of this sexual refractoriness are contained in the terminal abdominal ganglion (TAG) (Sakai et al., 1991 ; Sakai et al., 1995). In the present research, we recorded extracellular spike activity of ascending interneurons in the TAG with a suction electrode. The results indicated that, in many cases, spike activity decreased immediately after the spermatophore was extruded by artificial stimulation applied to the genital complex and continued for about 20 min and then gradually recovered. During the period of the spike activity decrease, the evoked response to wind stimulation was also decreased. On the other hand, the spike activity changed in the discharge pattern about 1 h after the spermatophore was protruded following natural mating. These results suggest that ascending interneurons in the TAG certaintly send the signals of the mating switch-over and refractory-timer-off to the brain. These promise the future analysis at a single neuron level.
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