Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience Systems Neuroscience

Abstract

In locusts, POL-neurons innervate specifi c, mostly small and distinct neuropils in the brain that are specialized for integration and processing of polarized-light information. These neuropils are connected by distinct fi ber bundles and can be regarded as elements of a polarization vision pathway in the locust brain (Homberg, 2004). Neurons of a small ventral layer of the anterior lobe of the lobula (ALo) receive polarization information from the dorsal rim area of the medulla (DRMe) and send these signals to the anterior optic tubercle (AOTu) in the central brain. Only neurons of the lower unit of the AOTu are sensitive to polarized light (Pfeiffer et al., 2005). These neurons integrate signals from the sky polarization and chromatic contrast and compensate their E-vector tuning for diurnal changes in solar elevation (Pfeiffer and Homberg, 2007). Polarization information is transmitted from the AOTu to two distinct regions of the lateral accessory lobe, the median olive (MO) and the lateral triangle (LT) (Homberg et al., 2003). From these areas, neurons transfer polarization information to a fi nal processing stage of the polarization vision pathway, the central complex.