Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27487785›Full record

ArticleJournal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology2016

Neurons in the brain of the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria sensitive to polarized light at low stimulus elevations.

M Jerome Beetz, Keram Pfeiffer, Uwe Homberg

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In one paragraph

Article in Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact, top 94% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Neurons sensitive to sky compass signals in the brain of the Madeira cockroach Rhyparobia maderae.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2026
    Article
  2. A perspective on neuroethology: what the past teaches us about the future of neuroethology.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2024
    Review
  3. Neurons sensitive to non-celestial polarized light in the brain of the desert locust.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2023
    Article
  4. The influence of stimulus history on directional coding in the monarch butterfly brain.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2023
    Article
  5. The sky compass network in the brain of the desert locust.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2023
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

M Jerome BeetzInstitut für Zellbiologie und Neurowissenschaft, Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt/M, Germany.
Keram PfeifferFaculty of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35032, Marburg, Germany.
Uwe HombergFaculty of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35032, Marburg, Germany. homberg@biologie.uni-marburg.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8229-7236
Philipps University of Marburg · DEGoethe University Frankfurt · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) sense the plane of dorsally presented polarized light through specialized dorsal eye regions that are likely adapted to exploit the polarization pattern of the blue sky for spatial orientation. Receptive fields of these dorsal rim photoreceptors and polarization-sensitive interneurons are directed toward the upper sky but may extend to elevations below 30°. Behavioral data, however, suggests that S. gregaria is even able to detect polarized light from ventral directions but physiological evidence for this is still lacking. In this study we characterized neurons in the locust brain showing polarization sensitivity at low elevations down to the horizon. In most neurons polarization sensitivity was absent or weak when stimulating from the zenith. All neurons, including projection and commissural neurons of the optic lobe and local interneurons of the central brain, are novel cell types, distinct from polarization-sensitive neurons studied so far. Painting dorsal rim areas in both eyes black to block visual input had no effect on the polarization sensitivity of these neurons, suggesting that they receive polarized light input from the main eye. A possible role of these neurons in flight stabilization or the perception of polarized light reflected from bodies of water or vegetation is discussed.

Indexed as

LightAction PotentialsAnimalsBrainGrasshoppersMicroelectrodesMicroscopy, ConfocalMicroscopy, FluorescenceNeuronsPhotic StimulationSensationDesert locustFlight controlInsect brainOptic lobePolarized light detection

Identifiers

PMID27487785
OpenAlexW2482140397

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.