The afferent projection of mesothoracic bristle hairs in the cricket,Acheta domesticus

Summary One of the sensory systems of the thoracic segments of the cricket,Acheta domesticus, was investigated by using cobalt to stain the axonal arborizations of bristles of various types and locations. The results demonstrate that a variety of hair-like receptors project to the ventral areas of thoracic neuropil previously called ventral association center (VAC) and ventralmost ventral association center (vVAC). Bristles located on the dorsal thorax or wings arborize in or near VAC, while those on the ventral thorax and legs arborize in vVAC. Within the area of neuropil occupied by thoracic bristle afferents, the axonal arborizations are distributed according to the position of the parent receptor at the body surface; thus, medial afferents arborize medially and lateral ones more laterally. For leg afferents, the location of the axonal arborization is also correlated with the various leg segments of origin of the parent receptor and its circumferential location on that segment (Fig. 9).Abbreviations vVAC ventralmost ventral association center - VAC ventral association center