Fig.5 in Neuroplasticity in desert ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) - importance for the ontogeny of navigation

Fig.5: 3odel for processing of navigational information and sites of structural synaptic neuroplasticity in visual pathways after first sensory exposure and following learning walks. The left side depicts sensory input from the panoramic scenery, the geo- magnetic field and the sky polarization pattern with the position of the sun.Directional sky-compass information (compass cues: global vector) is processed via the anterior optic tract (AOT) to the lateral (LX) and central complex (CX), whereas snapshots from panoramic information (panoramic memories, local vectors) are processed via the anterior superior optic tract (ASOT) to the mushroom bodies (MB). The large difference in the numbers of plastic synaptic complexes (microglomeruli,MG) at the input of the MB and LX indicated in magenta. The sensory pathways for geomagnetic information, the input of the endogenous clock for time-compensation, the connection from the MB output to the CX, and connections to the motor output are still hypothetical and depicted as dashed lines. Regions of structural (synaptic) neuroplasticity and potentially affected downstream connections highlighted in magenta (see text for details). Further abbreviations: AOTU anterior optic tubercle, KC Kenyon cell, LA lamina, LO lobula, MBON mushroom body output neuron, ME medulla, TL tangential neuron.