2012 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Time-compensation mechanism for polarization vision in insects
| Project/Area Number |
22770064
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
Animal physiology/Animal behavior
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| Research Institution | Kobe University |
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Principal Investigator |
SAKURA Midori 神戸大学, 大学院・理学研究科, 講師 (60421989)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2010 – 2012
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| Keywords | ナビゲーション / 太陽コンパス / e-ベクトル / 昆虫 |
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| Research Abstract |
Many insects use polarization pattern of the sky for orientation or navigation. Polarization pattern of the sky changes depending on solar elevation, i.e. time of the day, but it is still unclear how the nervous system compensates the time effect of the polarized light cue from the sky. In this study, long-time recording of neural responses of the polarization-sensitive neurons in the cricket brain were performed, and a diurnal change of the response amplitude with respect to the e-vector rotation was observed. This result suggests that the polarization vision system in insect is controlled by the biological clocks.
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