Distinct protocerebral neuropils associated with attractive and aversive female-produced odorants in the male moth brain

• Published in: eLife Vol. 10
• Main Authors: Kymre, Jonas Hansen, Liu, XiaoLan, Ian, Elena, Berge, Christoffer Nerland, Wang, GuiRong, Berg, Bente G, Zhao, XinCheng, Chu, Xi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England eLife Science Publications, Ltd 14.05.2021; eLife Sciences Publications Ltd; eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
• Subjects: Behavior; electrophysiology; Helicoverpa armigera; Information processing; interspecific signal; macroglomerular complex; neuronal morphology; Neurons; Neuroscience; Odors; pheromone; Pheromones; Protocerebrum; Working groups; United States; Germany; California; neuroscience
• ISSN: 2050-084X; 2050-084X
• DOI: 10.7554/eLife.65683

The pheromone system of heliothine moths is an optimal model for studying principles underlying higher-order olfactory processing. In , three male-specific glomeruli receive input about three female-produced signals, the primary pheromone component, serving as an attractant, and two minor constituents, serving a dual function, i.e. attraction versus inhibition of attraction. From the antennal-lobe glomeruli, the information is conveyed to higher olfactory centers, including the lateral protocerebrum, via three main paths - of which the medial tract is the most prominent. In this study, we traced physiologically identified medial-tract projection neurons from each of the three male‑specific glomeruli with the aim of mapping their terminal branches in the lateral protocerebrum. Our data suggest that the neurons' wide-spread projections are organized according to behavioral significance, including a spatial separation of signals representing attraction versus inhibition - however, with a unique capacity of switching behavioral consequence based on the amount of the minor components.