Binocular properties of lobula giant neurons of crabs

DANIEL TOMSIC; JULIETA SZTARKER; FLORENCIA SCARANO

Congreso; Gordon Research Conference on Neuroethology: Behavior, Evolution & Neurobiology; 2017

Gordon Research Conference

Many important behaviors of arthropods are guided visually, for which the information obtained separately from each eye must be combined and processed. We know little about how the images of an object seen by the two eyes merge in the arthropod brain. Motion-sensitive giant neurons from the lobula (third optic neuropil) of insects and crabs are thought to be central elements in the organization of different visually-guided behaviors in these animals. By performing in vivo intracellular recording, we explored the ability of lobula giant (LG) neurons of the crab Neohelice to process binocular information. We took advantage that in crabs the visual field of each eye encompass 360°, i.e. the visual field of both eyes completely overlap. By using a removable division between the two eyes, we evaluated LG responses under binocular or monocular sight of a stimulus, consisting of a black bar moved in the front-lateral visual field, ipsilateral or contralateral to the recording side.