Welcome!
This collection contains over 100 anatomical reconstructions of sensory neurons and interneurons. Each neuron has been classified according to its functional properties and aligned to a common coordinate system.
Click here to view the collection.
What is the cricket cercal sensory system?
The cercal sensory system detects the direction and dynamics of air currents with mechanoreceptors located on the cerci.
Mechanoreceptor hairs are lodged in sockets that constrain their movements. Hairs of different lengths are sensitive to different air current velocities. Each mechanoreceptor is innervated by a single sensory neuron.
Interneurons and sensory neurons were reconstructed, scaled and aligned to a common coordinate system, preserving their anatomical relationships.
Each sensory neuron is broadly tuned to the direction of air currents. The anatomical shape and position of the sensory neuron arbor in the CNS is correlated with its directional tuning.