Anatomische Organisation des Gehirns und neuronale Struktur des Zentralkomplexes der Schabe Rhyparobia maderae
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Philipps-Universität Marburg
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Abstract
Insects are one of the most successful animal groups on earth, colonizing almost every ecological
niche. Despite their relatively simple nervous systems and limited number of nerve cells, they still have
remarkable navigational abilities.
In order to navigate in familiar and unknown environments, it is necessary to know one’s own
current heading in space. This requires the comparison of external cues such as the position of the sun
with self-generated cues such as the optic flow during locomotion. The brain area considered to be the
navigation center is the central complex, a group of neuropils that has been intensively studied in
various species.
In this doctoral thesis, the neurons of the central complex of the nocturnal Madeira cockroach
Rhyparobia maderae are cataloged (project II and III), and the brain and thus their projection areas
are defined and analyzed (project I).
Insects have a ventral nerve cord whose anterior ganglia are fused to form a brain. This is divided
into three sections: trito-, deuto- and protocerebrum. Each section consists of different brain areas,
so-called neuropils, which can be separated from each other. Chapter 1 deals with the structure of the
entire brain of the cockroach R. maderae and thus joins a small group of completely reconstructed
insect brains. With the help of fiber tracts, commissures and different antibody stainings, the
boundaries of the individual neuropils were defined and compared with other existing atlases of insect
brains.
One group of neuropils that has been studied particularly intensively in various species is the central
complex. It is located in the middle of the brain and consists of four different neuropils: the
protocerebral bridge, the upper and lower division of the central body, and the paired noduli. The
central complex is considered the navigation center of the insect brain and processes information
about wind direction, optic flow, celestial compass signals such as the position of the sun, olfactory
and tactile stimuli. Downstream descending neurons adjust the animal’s movement to its goal
direction. The internal structure of the central complex has already been studied in various insect
species. Studies have shown a conserved subdivision into different types of neurons, whose regular
branching pattern forms the internal structure of the central complex. In order to understand the exact
information flow within the central complex and to be able to compare the processing of different
information between different insect species, a detailed characterization of the individual neurons of
the central complex is necessary.
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Dates
Created: 2024Issued: 2025-03-17Updated: 2025-03-17
Faculty
Fachbereich Biologie
Publisher
Philipps-Universität Marburg
Language
ger
Data types
DoctoralThesis
Keywords
Zoological sciences
DFG-subjects
Tiere (Zoologie)
DDC-Numbers
570
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Jahn, Stefanie Jutta (0000-0002-1151-2875): Anatomische Organisation des Gehirns und neuronale Struktur des Zentralkomplexes der Schabe Rhyparobia maderae. : Philipps-Universität Marburg 2025-03-17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17192/z2025.0083.
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