Wehner R
Trends Neurosci. 1989 Sep;12(9):353-9. doi: 10.1016/0166-2236(89)90043-x.
Insects can perceive the pattern of polarized light (e-vector pattern) in the sky and use it as a compass. To accomplish this navigational task they employ a specialized part of the retina in which the polarization analysers (ultraviolet receptors) are arranged in a way that mimics, by and large, the distribution of e-vector directions in the sky. By sweeping this 'matched polarization filter's across the sky, the insect translates the complex spatial information provided by the celestial e-vector patterns into rather simple temporal modulations of summed receptor outputs. This mechanism provides a striking example of peripheral coding by matched filtering in sensory systems.
昆虫能够感知天空中偏振光的模式（电场矢量模式）并将其用作指南针。为完成这一导航任务，它们利用视网膜的一个特殊部分，其中偏振分析仪（紫外线感受器）的排列方式大体上模仿了天空中电场矢量方向的分布。通过将这个“匹配的偏振滤波器”扫过天空，昆虫将天体电场矢量模式提供的复杂空间信息转化为感受器输出总和的相当简单的时间调制。这种机制为感觉系统中通过匹配滤波进行外周编码提供了一个显著的例子。
