Visual neurons with different shapes: investigation of the relationship between morphology and function
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 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