Abstract: | Directional sensitivity of the abdominal giant fibers of the cricket to auditory stimulation has been investigated with special interest to the effect of the cerci position on the directional sensitivity of the giant neurons of the terminal abdominal ganglion. It has been shown that at least for some giant neurons the preferred directions of stimulation are practically independent of cerci position. (Fig. 2, 3). By other words these neurons have constant preferred directions in relation to the insect body, but not to the cerci. This property of giant neurons can be accounted for their changeable connections with many receptors having different directional selectivity. If innervation of the giant neuron is artificially restricted to one group of receptors with identical directional selectivity the described constancy of preferred directions in relation to the body disappears (Fig. 4). |