Architectonics of crayfish ganglia

The central nervous system of crayfish consists of a chain of segmental ganglia that are linked by cables of intersegmental axons. Each ganglion contains a highly-ordered core of longitudinal tracts, vertical tracts, commissures, and synaptic neuropils. We review from a technical perspective the history of the description of these ganglia, and recognize four episodes of progress. Each major innovation in anatomical methods has led to new insight into the structure and function of this nervous system, and new awareness of the structural patterns that are common to the CNS of all arthropods. Ganglia in different segments of the body differ in size, and appear to differ in anatomy. From a comparison of the structures of the cores of abdominal, thoracic, and subesophageal ganglia, we argue that this apparent difference is illusory. Rather, each of these ganglia is organized on the same plan, a plan also found in insect segmental ganglia. The apparent differences follow from longitudinal compression during development and from allometric growth of particular neuropils associated with innervation of the walking legs. Different authors have described the internal organization of ganglia in different segments, so we provide a cross-reference to the nomenclatures they have introduced. We compare the locations of cell bodies of motor neurons and accessory neurons that innervate different peripheral structures, and demonstrate double-labeling of certain GABAergic peripheral inhibitory neurons. Finally, we describe the construction of digital movies of serial sections of these ganglia, and discuss their utility.