Department of Biology/Animal Physiology, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
Behavioural Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II), Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
J Comp Neurol. 2022 Oct;530(14):2416-2438. doi: 10.1002/cne.25339. Epub 2022 May 20.
The central complex (CX) in the brain of insects is a highly conserved group of midline-spanning neuropils consisting of the upper and lower division of the central body, the protocerebral bridge, and the paired noduli. These neuropils are the substrate for a number of behaviors, most prominently goal-oriented locomotion. Honeybees have been a model organism for sky-compass orientation for more than 70 years, but there is still very limited knowledge about the structure and function of their CX. To advance and facilitate research on this brain area, we created a high-resolution three-dimensional atlas of the honeybee's CX and associated neuropils, including the posterior optic tubercles, the bulbs, and the anterior optic tubercles. To this end, we developed a modified version of the iterative shape averaging technique, which allowed us to achieve high volumetric accuracy of the neuropil models. For a finer definition of spatial locations within the central body, we defined layers based on immunostaining against the neuropeptides locustatachykinin, FMRFamide, gastrin/cholecystokinin, and allatostatin and included them into the atlas by elastic registration. Our honeybee CX atlas provides a platform for future neuroanatomical work.
昆虫脑中的中央复合体（CX）是由中线延伸的神经节组成的高度保守的神经节团，包括中央体的上下部分、protocerebral bridge 和成对的 noduli。这些神经节团是许多行为的基础，尤其是目标导向的运动。蜜蜂作为天空罗盘定向的模式生物已有 70 多年的历史，但对其 CX 的结构和功能仍然知之甚少。为了推进和促进对这个脑区的研究，我们创建了一个高精度的蜜蜂 CX 及其相关神经节团的三维图谱，包括后眼柄、球状体和前眼柄。为此，我们开发了一种迭代形状平均技术的改进版本，该技术使我们能够实现神经节模型的高体积精度。为了更精细地定义中央体内部的空间位置，我们根据神经肽 locustatachykinin、FMRFamide、gastrin/cholecystokinin 和 allatostatin 的免疫染色定义了层，并通过弹性配准将它们包含在图谱中。我们的蜜蜂 CX 图谱为未来的神经解剖学工作提供了一个平台。
