The ultrastructure of prosternal sensory hair afferents within the locust central nervous system

The sensory neurones innervating long prosternal hairs of Locusta migratorioides were backfilled with horseradish peroxidase through their dendrites. The neurones' central projections in and around the medial ventral tract were examined with electron microscopy. Most synapses occur on axon collaterals which ramify through the neuropile around the tract where both input and output synapses were observed. Serial sectioning methods were used to determine the relative distribution of inputs and outputs which often lie in close proximity to one another on the axon terminals. The prosternal hair terminals contain agranular synaptic vesicles approximately 37 nm in diameter. Surrounding unidentified neuropilar profiles contain vesicles which are either statistically indistinguishable in size, or are larger, 45 nm diameter agranular vesicles. Neurones which are pre- or postsynaptic to labelled terminals generally contain vesicles of the second type. Input synapses onto the central terminals of primary afferent neurones can be recognised as a widespread phenomenon in the nervous systems of both invertebrates and vertebrates which will allow a fine degree of control of sensory inflow into the central nervous system.