Article
Biology
Mizuki Uemura, Andrej Meglic, Myron P. Zalucki, Andrea Battisti, Gregor Belusic
Summary: Processionary caterpillars of Thaumetopoea pityocampa in Europe and Ochrogaster lunifer in Australia form single files of larvae crawling head-to-tail guided by polarization vision, with anatomical specialization in the first stemma. Behavioral and anatomical evidence suggest that polarized light cues are important for larval orientation and can be robustly detected with a simple visual system.
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
G. C. H. E. de Croon, C. De Wagter, T. Seidl
Summary: Researchers have proposed a new method for robots to estimate distances between objects by their visual appearance, which has been successfully implemented on a small flying robot. This approach results in improved performance in tasks such as landing and obstacle avoidance.
NATURE MACHINE INTELLIGENCE
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Nobuaki Matsubara, Ryuichi Okada, Midori Sakura
Summary: Crickets are able to use polarized light information to find a target place, with time and walking distance significantly decreased with increasing trials. The fixed arrangement of the e-vector pattern and cool spot helps crickets locate the target place faster, while random rotation of the e-vector pattern does not provide assistance.
ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biology
Tu Anh Thi Nguyen, M. Jerome Beetz, Christine Merlin, Basil el Jundi
Summary: Monarch butterflies migrate from North America to Central Mexico every autumn, relying on celestial cues for orientation. The central complex in their brain helps guide them, with migratory butterflies showing narrower encoding of the sun compared to non-migratory butterflies. This suggests that migratory monarchs need a precise sun compass to keep their direction during their journey.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Aerospace
Donghua Zhao, Jun Tang, Xindong Wu, Jing Zhao, Chenguang Wang, Chong Shen, Jun Liu
Summary: This paper presents a noise analysis and a novel multiscale transform denoising method for a polarized light compass used in unmanned aerial vehicle navigation. The proposed approaches, including multiscale principal component analysis and multiscale time-frequency peak filtering, significantly improve the heading measurement accuracy of the compass.
CHINESE JOURNAL OF AERONAUTICS
(2022)
Article
Optics
Huaju Liang, Yansong Chua, Junyi Wang, Qibin Li, Fuhao Yu, Miaomiao Zhu, Geng Peng
Summary: The brains of some insects have the ability to encode and decode polarization information and obtain heading angle information. This study proposes new decoding methods, including average value decoding and weighted average value decoding, to use the heading information contained in multiple neurons for heading determination. Furthermore, threshold value decoding and weighted threshold value decoding are proposed to eliminate interference from neurons with low activation. The study also suggests improving the heading determination accuracy of the artificial neural network through pre-training.
Article
Neurosciences
Yorka Munoz, Francisco Cuevas-Pacheco, Gael Quesseveur, Keith K. Murai
Summary: Astrocytes in the primate brain, particularly in the common marmoset, show molecular and structural heterogeneity across different brain regions, with differences in expression of markers and transporters. This complexity is further demonstrated by variations in astrocyte structure and interactions with blood vessels, microglia, and neurons. The study enhances our understanding of the diverse properties of astrocytes in the primate central nervous system.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Aerospace
Andrew D. Dianetti, John L. Crassidis
Summary: Light curves can be used to estimate the attitude, shape, and surface parameters of a space object, but there are limitations. This study develops a polarized bidirectional reflectance distribution function to increase the uniqueness of attitude solutions and improve surface material estimation. By measuring the polarization of reflected light, the observability of attitude from light curves is increased.
JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE CONTROL AND DYNAMICS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Jing Cai, Jianhua Cheng, Jiaxin Liu, Zhenmin Wang, Yuehang Xu
Summary: This study proposed a method of polar rapid transfer alignment assisted by improved polarized-light navigation to address potential issues during initialization at high latitudes. By redefining the grid heading of polarized-light navigation under the grid frame and utilizing a weighted-clustering algorithm to process skylight polarization patterns and extract angles, a mathematical model of RTA with disturbances was established. This allowed for the integration of the polarized-light navigation grid heading solution into measurements, improving the low-quality attitude reference of the master SINS.
IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Ronja Hensgen, Jonas Gothe, Stefanie Jahn, Sophie Hummert, Kim Lucia Schneider, Naomi Takahashi, Uta Pegel, Sascha Gotthardt, Uwe Homberg
Summary: The study analyzed the anatomical organization and neuronal connections of the lateral complexes (LXs) in the desert locust, revealing their important role in processing sensory information and goal-directed locomotion.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Wenzhou Zhou, Chen Fan, Xiaofeng He, Xiaoping Hu, Ying Fan, Xuesong Wu, Hang Shang
Summary: This paper introduces a bionic multi-sensor navigation and control system for unmanned ground vehicles, utilizing joint calibration method and pixelated polarized sensors to enhance system robustness and navigation output rate. Experimental results demonstrate the system’s accuracy and autonomous regression capability.
IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Huaju Liang, Hongyang Bai, Ke Hu, Xinbo Lv
Summary: This paper proposes a method to determine orientation using an artificial neural network. The method extracts light intensity information of different polarization directions and directly extracts the degree of polarization and angle of polarization to determine orientation. Experimental results validate the stability and effectiveness of the method.
JOURNAL OF BIONIC ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Josephine Timm, Mara Scherner, Jannik Matschke, Martina Kern, Uwe Homberg
Summary: Dopamine plays a crucial role in regulating physiological processes in the insect nervous system. Specific dopaminergic neurons are located in the central complex, which is involved in various functions such as sky compass navigation and sleep control. The distribution of neurons immunoreactive to tyrosine hydroxylase showed a high degree of conservation across different insect orders, with species-specific variations observed in cell number and innervated areas.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Uwe Homberg, Ronja Hensgen, Evelyn Rieber, Jutta Seyfarth, Martina Kern, Stefan Dippel, Heinrich Dircksen, Lisa Spaenig, Yelda Pakize Kina
Summary: The central complex is a highly interconnected group of neuropils in the insect brain, involved in controlling spatial orientation. Studies on the desert locust have shown that neuropeptides, particularly orcokinin, play a significant role in neural signaling within this brain region. In addition, in silico transcript analysis identified eight different orcokinin-A type peptides in the desert locust, suggesting their involvement in signal processing in the central complex.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Chu Jinkui, Hu Hanpei, Wan Zhenhua, Li Jinshan
Summary: This paper proposes a novel visual inertial integrated navigation system assisted by polarized light, which achieves the observability of azimuth and fuses multi-sensor data by introducing a polarization orientation sensor. Experimental results show that the proposed system has lower location inaccuracy and higher heading angle accuracy compared to the original system.
LASER & OPTOELECTRONICS PROGRESS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
M. Jerome Beetz, Christian Kraus, Myriam Franzke, David Dreyer, Martin F. Strube-Bloss, Wolfgang Rossler, Eric J. Warrant, Christine Merlin, Basil El Jundi
Summary: Animals use an internal compass for navigation, which is crucial for long-distance migrating animals like monarch butterflies. During flight, the heading-direction neurons in monarch butterflies change their tuning, transforming the central-complex network to function as a global compass. This allows for robust heading representation even under unreliable visual scenarios.
Editorial Material
Behavioral Sciences
Gunther K. H. Zupanc, Kentaro Arikawa, Charlotte Helfrich-Forster, Uwe Homberg, Peter M. Narins, Wolfgang Rossler, Andrea Megela Simmons, Eric J. Warrant
Summary: This article introduces the winners of the 2022 Editors' Choice Award and Readers' Choice Award in the Journal of Comparative Physiology A, as well as the categories and content of the awarded papers. The Editors' Choice Award winners were selected by the Editorial Board based on highly recommended papers in Volume 207 in 2021, while the Readers' Choice Award winners were determined by access numbers of articles in Volume 206 in 2020.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY A-NEUROETHOLOGY SENSORY NEURAL AND BEHAVIORAL PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Ronja Hensgen, Frederick Zittrell, Keram Pfeiffer, Uwe Homberg
Summary: The polarization pattern of the sky is used by insects for spatial orientation and navigation. This pattern is influenced by Rayleigh scattering and the position of the sun. In the insect brain, neurons in the central complex (CX) are tuned to the angle of polarization (AoP), forming an internal compass for celestial navigation. The neurons in the CX can reliably encode the AoP even in unfavorable sky conditions with low degrees of polarization (DoP).
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY A-NEUROETHOLOGY SENSORY NEURAL AND BEHAVIORAL PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Robin Grob, Oliver Holland Cunz, Kornelia Gruebel, Keram Pfeiffer, Wolfgang Roessler, Pauline N. Fleischmann
Summary: Many animals navigate using celestial cues in challenging environments. Cataglyphis desert ants use a time-compensated skylight compass to navigate efficiently. The ants must learn the sun's daily course before foraging, which leads to structural changes in their visual neuronal circuits. The rotation of skylight polarization during learning walks plays a key role in inducing learning-dependent rewiring in high-order integration centers of the ant brain.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Andreas Kaiser, Ronja Hensgen, Katja Tschirner, Evelyn Beetz, Hauke Wuestenberg, Marcel Pfaff, Theo Mota, Keram Pfeiffer
Summary: The study created a high-resolution three-dimensional atlas of the honeybee's central complex, providing a foundation for further research on this brain area.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY
(2022)
Biographical-Item
Behavioral Sciences
Eric Warrant
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY A-NEUROETHOLOGY SENSORY NEURAL AND BEHAVIORAL PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Editorial Material
Behavioral Sciences
Gunther K. H. Zupanc, Wolfgang Roessler, Eric J. J. Warrant, Uwe Homberg, Kentaro Arikawa, Charlotte Helfrich-Foerster, Peter M. M. Narins, Andrea Megela Simmons
Summary: The Journal of Comparative Physiology A, which has a history of 99 years, has published influential papers in comparative physiology and related disciplines. The winners of the 2023 Editors' Choice Awards include papers on contact chemoreception in prey sensing by octopus and magnetic maps in animal navigation. The winners of the 2023 Readers' Choice Awards include papers on thermal homeostasis of honeybee colonies and a historical letter on Einstein and the honeybee by von Frisch.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY A-NEUROETHOLOGY SENSORY NEURAL AND BEHAVIORAL PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Jens Habenstein, Kornelia Gruebel, Keram Pfeiffer, Wolfgang Roessler
Summary: In this study, the honey bee cerebrum was anatomically and microscopically analyzed using immunolabeling and neuronal tract tracing techniques. A total of 35 neuropils and 25 fiber tracts were discovered. This brain atlas provides valuable information for studying multisensory integration in honey bees and comparative research.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Lisa Rother, Robin Mueller, Erwin Kirschenmann, James J. J. Foster, Sinan Kaya-Zeeb, Markus Thamm, Keram Pfeiffer
Summary: The behavioural state of animals affects neuronal information processing. In insects, locomotion has been shown to change the response properties of visual interneurons, but its effect on photoreceptors is unknown. This study found that the visual processing speed of bumblebees significantly increased when they were walking, and this increase was accompanied by a rise in eye temperature. Artificially heating the head confirmed that the walking-induced temperature increase was responsible for the faster processing speed. Walking also accelerated the visual system to the equivalent of a 14-fold increase in light intensity. These findings suggest that the rise in temperature during walking accelerates the processing of visual information, which is advantageous for processing the increased information flow during locomotion.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yiting Tao, Michael Lucas, Asanka Perera, Samuel Teague, Eric Warrant, Javaan Chahl
Summary: In this study, we examined the feasibility of utilizing the Milky Way for maintaining heading in machine vision systems on autonomous vehicles. By measuring its visual features and characteristics, and considering the conditions and sensory systems used by insects, we demonstrated that computer vision methods can accurately extract the Milky Way's orientation. However, higher levels of light pollution can negatively impact navigation systems relying on the Milky Way.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2023)
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Eric J. Warrant
Article
Biology
Sajesh Vijayan, G. S. Balamurali, Jewel Johnson, Almut Kelber, Eric J. Warrant, Hema Somanathan
Summary: We discovered that the Asian giant honeybee, Apis dorsata, can see colors at night under dim light conditions. This is interesting, as this species is primarily diurnal, while another honeybee species, Apis mellifera, is color-blind at twilight. Our experiments showed that A. dorsata can discriminate colors during the day and even at night. This discovery opens avenues for studying visual adaptations for dim-light color vision, the role of bees in nocturnal flower pollination, and the impact of light pollution on A. dorsata's nocturnal activity.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
M. Jerome Beetz, Christian Kraus, Basil el Jundi
Summary: The study identified goal-direction neurons in the butterfly brain that specifically encode the insect's desired flight direction during spatial orientation.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Biology
M. Jerome Beetz, Basil el Jundi
Summary: This article reviews the current progress on the neural substrate of spatial orientation in Monarch butterflies and discusses how their brain controls their spectacular annual migration. It also raises open research questions that would provide important insights into understanding insect migration.
CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Meng Li, Clara Seinsche, Samuel Jansson, Julio Hernandez, Jadranka Rota, Eric Warrant, Mikkel Brydegaard
Summary: In this study, infrared polarimetric hyperspectral imaging was used to analyze wing characteristics of moth species. It was found that the wings appeared glossy and reflective under infrared light, providing a unique way to differentiate between different species. Using comprehensive models, the spectral, polarimetric, and angular optical properties of the wings could be reduced to just 11 parameters, which were significantly different between species. These findings have the potential to greatly enhance remote identification of free-flying moth species.
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY INTERFACE
(2022)