Visual neurons with different shapes: investigation of the relationship between morphology and function
(2020) BIOK01 20201Degree Projects in Biology
- Abstract
- In this project, morphological differences between motion detector neurons in Drosophila melanogaster were compared and used to speculate regarding their function. This was achieved by comparing properties such as diameter, height, width, bifurcation, asymmetry and terminal degree. To assist in the comparison, neurons were also visualized in 3D to identify structural differences. It was found that lobula columnar ( LC ) neurons tended to be larger and more complex than T-neurons . This was evident in properties including number of bifurcations, height, width, terminal degree and diameter. The larger diameter, more bifurcations and terminal degree could result in faster and longer signal propagation with rapid firing intervals for LC... (More)
- In this project, morphological differences between motion detector neurons in Drosophila melanogaster were compared and used to speculate regarding their function. This was achieved by comparing properties such as diameter, height, width, bifurcation, asymmetry and terminal degree. To assist in the comparison, neurons were also visualized in 3D to identify structural differences. It was found that lobula columnar ( LC ) neurons tended to be larger and more complex than T-neurons . This was evident in properties including number of bifurcations, height, width, terminal degree and diameter. The larger diameter, more bifurcations and terminal degree could result in faster and longer signal propagation with rapid firing intervals for LC neurons. (Less)
- Popular Abstract (Swedish)
- Do visual neurons differ in shape and fucntion?
Detecting a potential partner, a threat, or food is vital for the survival of a fruit fly. To be able to register visual information, different neurons are required. Fruit flies possess a group of neurons called motion detector (MD) neurons. They react to the movement of objects and are located in a visual brain region; the optic lobe. Within these MD neurons there are those that respond to small objects, some that react to large objects and certain neurons that are sensitive to dark or bright objects. Could it be that these neurons differ in their structure and that it could explain how they function?
When we want to compare the structure of a living organism, we can look at the... (More) - Do visual neurons differ in shape and fucntion?
Detecting a potential partner, a threat, or food is vital for the survival of a fruit fly. To be able to register visual information, different neurons are required. Fruit flies possess a group of neurons called motion detector (MD) neurons. They react to the movement of objects and are located in a visual brain region; the optic lobe. Within these MD neurons there are those that respond to small objects, some that react to large objects and certain neurons that are sensitive to dark or bright objects. Could it be that these neurons differ in their structure and that it could explain how they function?
When we want to compare the structure of a living organism, we can look at the morphology, which surprisingly translates to "study of shape". To follow this method, I downloaded data on MD neurons from a dataset called Hemibrain. In this dataset, numerous parameters about neurons are available, such as average height, width, diameter and coordinates for the whole neuron structure. With the help of this data, I could compare different fruit fly MD neurons and reconstruct them in 3D to visualize their structure (Figure. 1).
Results
I found that one group of neurons (LC11) tended to be larger in parameters such as height, width, and diameter while being shaped in an asymmetric way. These neurons also had a complex network structure in the bottom and top part of the neuron (Figure. 1). This could make the neuron communicate during longer time and send their signals in rapid intervals. In contrast, another group (T-neurons) were generally smaller and had a more simple symmetric network structure. These neurons are connected between shorter distances so maybe there is no need for being large and complex like LC11.
The aforementioned differences could possibly explain the way in which MD neurons function. By comparing the morphology and reconstructing neurons, we could get a broader insight in the diversity of MD neurons how they function.
Examensarbete för kandidatexamen i Biologi 15 hp 2020
Biologiska institutionen, Lunds universitet
Handledare: Bo Bekkouche och David O'Carroll
Functional zoology (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9020051
- author
- Federley Ottosson, Love
- supervisor
-
- Bo Bekkouche LU
- David O'Carroll LU
- organization
- course
- BIOK01 20201
- year
- 2020
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- language
- English
- id
- 9020051
- date added to LUP
- 2020-06-18 10:27:07
- date last changed
- 2020-06-18 10:27:07
@misc{9020051,
abstract = {{In this project, morphological differences between motion detector neurons in Drosophila melanogaster were compared and used to speculate regarding their function. This was achieved by comparing properties such as diameter, height, width, bifurcation, asymmetry and terminal degree. To assist in the comparison, neurons were also visualized in 3D to identify structural differences. It was found that lobula columnar ( LC ) neurons tended to be larger and more complex than T-neurons . This was evident in properties including number of bifurcations, height, width, terminal degree and diameter. The larger diameter, more bifurcations and terminal degree could result in faster and longer signal propagation with rapid firing intervals for LC neurons.}},
author = {{Federley Ottosson, Love}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Visual neurons with different shapes: investigation of the relationship between morphology and function}},
year = {{2020}},
}