Co-ordination of the Flight Motor Pattern with Forewing Stretch Receptor Stimulation in Immature and Mature Adult Locusts

Abstract

Abstract We investigated the effect of proprioceptive feedback on the flight motor pattern during maturation of the locust flight system by stimulating the forewing stretch receptors (fSRs) in immature and mature adults and recording the frequency of wing depressor muscle activity. Stimulation of both fSRs produced co-ordination with the motor pattern in 4 of 10 immature animals and in 6 of 16 mature animals. The strength of co-ordination was measured as the variability of the phase of hindwing depressor muscle activity within the stimulus period. Co-ordination was stronger and the phase values higher in mature animals presented with a stimulus that mimics fSR activity in response to rhythmic wing elevation. We conclude that maturation of the flight motor is due, in part, to a change in the response of the central circuitry to a change in the timing of proprioceptive input.