Preparing for escape: an examination of the role of the DCMD neuron in locust escape jumps |
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Authors: | Roger D Santer Yoshifumi Yamawaki F Claire Rind Peter J Simmons |
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Institution: | (1) School of Biology, Ridley Building, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK;(2) Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan;(3) School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA |
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Abstract: | Many animals begin to escape by moving away from a threat the instant it is detected. However, the escape jumps of locusts
take several hundred milliseconds to produce and the locust must therefore be prepared for escape before the jumping movement
can be triggered. In this study we investigate a locust’s preparations to escape a looming stimulus and concurrent spiking
activity in its pair of uniquely identifiable looming-detector neurons (the descending contralateral movement detectors; DCMDs).
We find that hindleg flexion in preparation for a jump occurs at the same time as high frequency DCMD spikes. However, spikes
in a DCMD are not necessary for triggering hindleg flexion, since this hindleg flexion still occurs when the connective containing
a DCMD axon is severed or in response to stimuli that cause no high frequency DCMD spikes. Such severing of the connective
containing a DCMD axon does, however, increase the variability in flexion timing. We therefore propose that the DCMD contributes
to hindleg flexion in preparation for an escape jump, but that its activity affects only flexion timing and is not necessary
for the occurrence of hindleg flexion. |
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Keywords: | DCMD LGMD Locusta migratoria Flexion Cocking |
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