Functional Aspects of the Organization of the Insect Nervous System

Abstract

Publisher Summary During recent years, studies have been made of the organization and fine structure of some insect nervous systems, together with some investigations on their physiology. This chapter attempts to correlate these two aspects of research in an endeavor to present a picture of the functional organization of the insect nervous system. A full analysis of the integrative functions of the central nervous system and of peripheral nerve conduction must ultimately involve a synthesis of information on the structural, electrical, and chemical properties of the system. The chapter shows that many of the specialized structural features of the insect nervous system appear to be reflected in its physiological organization. The lack of any circulatory system in the nervous system is correlated, in the cockroach, with a fibrous and cellular nerve sheath, which unlike its vertebrate counterpart appears to be a relatively permeable structure. The relatively rapid movements of molecules across the neural lamella may be of significance in view of the extremely close contact of this structure with the cells of the fat body. The precise mechanism of synaptic transmission in insects remains to be elucidated. It seems clear that the most promising line of further enquiry into the mode of synaptic transmission at the myoneural junction and in the central nervous system of insects lies in the identification of the transmitter substance or substances in central and peripheral synapses.