by Imaan Tamimi
Reporting from lockdown with the Neuron Of The Month, we have a Lateral Horn Output Neuron (LHON) called AV6a3.
Neurons communicate with one another through their dendrites and axons. Dendrites (cyan) are projections that receive inputs (cyan spheres) from other neurons, while axons (red) are projections that relay information (outputs, red spheres) to other neurons.
AV6a3 has its dendrites in the Lateral Horn (LH, dark blue), a neuropil responsible for guiding innate behaviour that is analogous to the mammalian cortical amygdala. AV6a3’s long axon extends beyond the LH to other neuropils in the brain, crossing neuropil borders (one thing many of us wish we could still do). This particular neuron’s axon connects to other neurons in the superior lateral protocerebrum (SLP, pink), a neuropil that has a poorly understood function. Contrary to classical descriptions, we can see that AV6a3 also receives inputs (cyan spheres) from other neurons onto its axon, showing that the standard portrayal of dendrites as input regions and axons as output regions is overly simplistic.
If you want to know more about LHONs or maybe you’re tired of making banana bread, why don’t you have a relaxed, calm and enjoyable read – with or without your banana bread – through our recent paper on “Complete connectomic reconstruction of olfactory projection neurons in the fly brain” and you might even spot a couple of LHONs!