Insect research has significantly advanced neuroscience by addressing fundamental questions, with groundbreaking discoveries emerging from research carried out in Uruguay. Powered by technological advances, the field has seen milestones in ultrastructure, neuronal and synaptic structure, and complex behavioral findings. Key contributions include the first formal description of chemical synapses, the identification of synaptic vesicle origins in the endoplasmic reticulum, and pioneering work on eye induction and development. Uruguay's research has also provided critical insights into neural degeneration and repair mechanisms, the functional microanatomy of the visual pathway, and mechanoreception. This review highlights four decades of Uruguayan legacy in insect neuroscience, underscoring how a small, yet vibrant, community of researchers has embraced interdisciplinary collaborations and innovative methodologies. Additionally, this review addresses the evolving role of women in the field and the collaborative spirit that has propelled scientific discovery, marking a critical juncture in the development of insect neuroscience. Despite limited resources, Uruguay has played a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of brain organization, neuronal-glial interactions, and connectomics, making lasting contributions to both local and global neuroscience.
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1950s-1990s: The pioneering era of insect neuroscience in Uruguay.
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January 2025
Departamento de Neurofisiología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Montevideo, Uruguay. Electronic address:
Insect research has significantly advanced neuroscience by addressing fundamental questions, with groundbreaking discoveries emerging from research carried out in Uruguay. Powered by technological advances, the field has seen milestones in ultrastructure, neuronal and synaptic structure, and complex behavioral findings. Key contributions include the first formal description of chemical synapses, the identification of synaptic vesicle origins in the endoplasmic reticulum, and pioneering work on eye induction and development.
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School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.
We previously identified a role for dAuxilin (dAux), the fly homolog of Cyclin G-associated kinase, in glial autophagy contributing to Parkinson's disease (PD). To further dissect the mechanism, we present evidence here that lack of glial dAux enhanced the phosphorylation of the autophagy-related protein Atg9 at two newly identified threonine residues, T62 and T69. The enhanced Atg9 phosphorylation in the absence of dAux promotes autophagosome formation and Atg9 trafficking to the autophagosomes in glia.
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Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
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Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720.
Norepinephrine in vertebrates and its invertebrate analog, octopamine, regulate the activity of neural circuits. We find that, when hungry, larvae switch activity in type II octopaminergic motor neurons (MNs) to high-frequency bursts, which coincide with locomotion-driving bursts in type I glutamatergic MNs that converge on the same muscles. Optical quantal analysis across hundreds of synapses simultaneously reveals that octopamine potentiates glutamate release by tonic type Ib MNs, but not phasic type Is MNs, and occurs via the G-coupled octopamine receptor (OAMB).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFQuantifying spectral information about source separation in multisource odour plumes.
PLoS One
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Odours released by objects in natural environments can contain information about their spatial locations. In particular, the correlation of odour concentration timeseries produced by two spatially separated sources contains information about the distance between the sources. For example, mice are able to distinguish correlated and anti-correlated odour fluctuations at frequencies up to 40 Hz, while insect olfactory receptor neurons can resolve fluctuations exceeding 100 Hz.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSleep timing in flies from "adolescence" to adulthood.
Fly (Austin)
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Chronobiology Section, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
The aim of the present study was to assess sleep timing in at different ages, within the setting of an enforced schedule of varying light-dark stimuli, simulating light exposure variations between four typical office and one spent outside by a human, for a total of 30 days. Locomotor activity recording started when male flies were 3 days old. Flies exhibited a bimodal activity pattern, with a morning and an evening peak, and clear anticipation of the and transitions.
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