Abstract
Continuous neural spiking records were obtained from the mesothoracic ganglion of the dragonfly. For analysis the 12 s records of all 58 discriminated cells were “tracked” across three continuous behavioral states: pre-flight, flight and post-flight. The recorded spike amplitudes and angles (widths) for each cell were used to construct a simple map of individual cell positions relative to each other within the ganglion. Individual cell activity patterns were then characterized both with respect to neighboring cell locations and patterns of cell spiking observed across three behavioral states. The results indicated that this technique for constructing a “neighboring cell map” effectively reflects the known histological features of the ganglionic cell architecture. The gross firing histories of individual cells were found to correspond to the overall spike patterns of neighboring ganglionic cells as opposed to more distal cells. Such relationships suggest that the physical layout of this ganglionic network may help to determine or bias individual cell firing histories that occur during different behavioral states in the dragonfly.
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Faller, W.E., Luttges, M.W. Spatiotemporal analysis of simultaneous single-unit activity in the dragonfly. Biol. Cybern. 65, 381–389 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00216972
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00216972