Neural circuits for jumping in the locust

The locust jump consists of three distinct phases: Cocking: a rapid flexion of both hindleg tibia and locking of both tibia in full flexion. Co-contraction: simultaneous contractions in hindleg flexor and extensor muscles lasting about 0.5 s resulting in the storage of energy for the jump in elastic elements of the legs and muscles. Triggering: a sudden inhibition of flexor activity to allow the shortening of the contracted extensors and the release of the energy stored during the co-contraction phase. The neural circuitry controlling these three phases is now reasonably well understood. Some of its major features are: (1) pairs of large identifiable interneurons in the thoracic ganglia for evoking the cocking response (C-neurons) and for triggering the jump (M-neurons), (2) a central excitatory pathway from extensor to flexor tibiae motoneurons to ensure simultaneous activation of extensor and flexor motoneurons during the initial part of the co-contraction phase, (3) a positive feedback pathway from cuticular receptors to extensor motoneurons for maintaining extensor activity during the co-contraction phase, (4) proprioceptive feedback to the trigger interneurons for increasing their excitability during the co-contraction phase and thereby allowing a variety of external stimuli to activate the trigger neurons and evoke a jump, (5) presynaptic inhibition of visual pathways to the trigger neurons to ensure that the trigger neurons are not activated by the simultaneous occurrence of visual and auditory stimuli in the absence of proprioceptive input, and (6) a pair of multifunctional visual movement detecting neurons which can initiate cocking or trigger the jump depending on the animal's state.