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Related Concept Videos

Somatosensation01:33

Somatosensation

The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.
Thermosensation01:43

Thermosensation

Peripheral thermosensation is the perception of external temperature. A change in temperature (on the surface of the skin and other tissues) is detected by a family of temperature-sensitive ion channels called Transient Receptor Potential, or TRP, receptors. These receptors are located on free nerve endings. Those detecting cold temperatures are closer to the surface of the skin than the nerve endings detecting warmth. These thermoTRP channels, while temperature selective, have relatively...
Nociception01:44

Nociception

Nociception—the ability to feel pain—is essential for an organism’s survival and overall well-being. Noxious stimuli such as piercing pain from a sharp object, heat from an open flame, or contact with corrosive chemicals are first detected by sensory receptors, called nociceptors, located on nerve endings. Nociceptors express ion channels that convert noxious stimuli into electrical signals. When these signals reach the brain via sensory neurons, they are perceived as pain. Thus, pain helps the...
Physiology of Smell and Olfactory Pathway01:20

Physiology of Smell and Olfactory Pathway

Humans detect odors with the help of specialized cells located in the upper part of the nasal cavity, called olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs). ORNs possess hair-like structures called cilia, which are receptive to sensations from the inhaled air. When an odorant molecule binds to a specific receptor on the cell of the cilia, it leads to a series of events that ultimately cause the ORN to send electrical signals to the olfactory bulb in the brain through the olfactory nerves.
The olfactory...
Tactile and Chemical Senses01:27

Tactile and Chemical Senses

Tactile senses encompass touch, temperature, and pain, each mediated by specific receptors. Touch receptors detect mechanical energy or pressure against the skin. Sensory fibers from these receptors enter the spinal cord and relay information to the brain stem. Here, most fibers cross over to the opposite side of the brain. The touch information then moves to the thalamus, which projects a map of the body's surface onto the somatosensory areas of the parietal lobes in the cerebral cortex. This...
Pain01:20

Pain

Pain serves as a critical warning signal that alerts the body to potential or actual harm. When mechanical pressure on the skin is intense, such as from a sharp pinch, the sensation transitions from touch to pain. Similarly, extreme temperatures, like a hot pot handle, convert the sensation of heat into pain. Pain can also result from overstimulation of other senses, such as blinding light, loud noise, or the intense heat from habañero peppers. This ability to sense pain is essential for...

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Related Experiment Video

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Appetitive Associative Olfactory Learning in Drosophila Larvae
09:22

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Published on: February 18, 2013

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Thermosensory processing in the Drosophila brain.

Wendy W Liu1, Ofer Mazor2, Rachel I Wilson1

  • 1Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.

Nature
|March 6, 2015
PubMed
Summary

Fruit flies process temperature using opposing nerve cells. This study reveals how central brain circuits in Drosophila use crossover inhibition to create robust temperature detection, distinguishing between warming and cooling signals.

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Last Updated: Jul 22, 2026

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Sensory Biology
  • Animal Behavior

Background:

  • Vertebrates and Drosophila utilize bidirectional opponent thermoreceptor cells for temperature sensing.
  • Central circuits processing these thermal signals remain largely uncharacterized.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying temperature signal processing in the Drosophila brain.
  • To identify how distinct projection neurons (PNs) respond to warming and cooling stimuli.

Main Methods:

  • Genetic identification of projection neurons (PNs) in the Drosophila brain.
  • Analysis of neuronal responses to thermal stimuli (warming and cooling).
  • Investigation of synaptic connections between thermoreceptors and PNs.

Main Results:

  • Distinct PNs in Drosophila are excited by cooling, warming, or both.
  • Cooling-excited PNs receive direct excitation from cool thermoreceptors.
  • Warming-excited PNs ('warm-PNs') utilize crossover inhibition from cool thermoreceptors, which disinhibits them when warming suppresses cool thermoreceptor activity.

Conclusions:

  • Central circuits combine feed-forward excitation and disinhibition for sensitive temperature coding.
  • Crossover inhibition refines thermal signals by canceling correlated noise and enhancing anti-correlated thermal information.
  • This mechanism enables the construction of robust and sensitive neural codes for temperature detection.