Types of information Electric

Chemical

Visual

Thermal

Mechanical/
Auditory
 Neurons and their operation
in Controlling Behaviour

Receptor

Electrical energy
Transduction
from mechanical To CNS or muscle
stimulus
Neuronal interconnections give complexity with respect
to stimulation and inhibition!!
Mechanism of transduction at level of receptor
•Membrane permeability changes because of bound
chemicals or physical deformation-e.g. vibration of
tympanum of moth “ear” or light hitting a pigment
which is bound to a membrane
•Action potential - dependent on sufficient
depolarization to reach threshold, then self
propagating - a change in the resting state of the
nerve membrane which is negative on the inside
normally but positive when sodium ions flood
in because of change in membrane permeability
•Arrival of action potential at end of neuron results in
neurotransmitter release such that
another neuron is stimulated or a muscle directly
 Receptor/Neural/Effector pathway
Receptors-intercept Dimensions of
or accept information-
environmental directional/distance
information (including (where), what -
internal “state” useful for
information; e.g dangerous things
hunger) and good things

2 types of receptor
systems - broad band
(non-specific), and
labeled lines,
which are
receptor/neuron
complexes devoted to
a single type of
stimulus and
response
 Instinct
Sign stimuli and complex responses
A male Centris pallida bee

John Alcock’s thumb is approximately the size

and shape of a female bee and so enough to
stimulate copulatory behaviour by the male
 A simple rule of thumb governs this
male beetle’s mating behavior

The colour of the female is

enough to trigger mating
The Greylag goose-subject of one of Konrad Lorenz’s
famous experiments in instinct (and learning)
 Begging behavior
by a gull chick Instinct theory

A silver gull chick begs by pecking at its

parent’s bill, which, in turn, triggers
regurgitation. See Chapter 12, page 361-
362.
Effectiveness of different visual stimuli
in triggering the begging behavior of
herring gull chicks
Baby cuckoo
A code breaker-taking
begging for “advantage” of fixed behaviours!
food from its
foster parent,
a great reed
warbler
A larval Alcon blue butterfly
(caterpillar) is carried back to a
Myrmica rubra ant nest because
it mimics the “smell” of the ant
colony-it will be cared for by the
ants.
Case study - bat calls and moth hearing

Chapter 12; Page 363

Auditory Communication -
Intensity versus Frequency!
 Properties of the ultrasound-detecting auditory
receptors of a noctuid moth (Part 1)

Example - a1 and a2 neurons in noctuid moth ears affect the

thoracic ganglion, which relays the message or action potential via
other neurons that connect with membranes surrounding muscle
fibres where other depolarization events lead to contraction and
thus a postural change
 Properties of the ultrasound-detecting auditory
receptors of a noctuid moth (Part 2)

Rate of firing of a1 is proportional to intensity so moth has information

about distance and whether approaching or retreating based on
whether intensity increases or decreases over time—can decide what
to do, i.e. if low/moderate intensity, bat is still outside its own detection
range (~3 m) so moth can simply turn and fly away (moths can detect
bats at up to 30 m)
A1 also responds only to pulsed sounds - these are the
distance echolocation cries of bats
How moths might locate bats in space
 How moths might locate bats in space (Part 2)

Relative strength of stimulus on either side can provide directional

information
Thoracic ganglion can integrate directional information and
stimulate muscles on appropriate side to result in matching so the
predator is directly behind-moth becomes less of a target for bat’s
echolocation!
 How moths might locate bats in space (Part 3)

Tympana shielded
by wings

Tympana not shielded by wings

Neither a1 nor a2
respond to low
frequency sounds, i.e.
stimulus filtering-high
frequency sounds are
biologically
meaningful because
associated with
hunting bats
Is the A2 cell necessary for anti-interception
behavior by moths? (Part 1)
 Is the A2 cell necessary for anti-interception
behavior by moths? (Part 2)
a2 cells fire at high
sound intensity (and
when calls are a
continuous buzz - i.e.
during the "attack
phase") from bat and
seem to stimulate a
central pattern
generator in thoracic
ganglion to shut
down normal wing
flapping so erratic
manoevers result—
only appropriate
when bat is within its
own range for
echolocation However, this hypothesis is not necessarily borne out by the
evidence – only A1 continues to fire