关键词: 昆虫, 脑部结构, 触角叶, 中央复合体, 蕈形体, 信号处理, 嗅觉编码, 嗅觉变异

Abstract: The insect brain is composed of protocerebrum, deutocerebrum and tritocerebrum. The protocerebrum contains advanced sensory centers, such as mushroom body and central complex, controlling the advanced neural activities of insects, such as learning, memory and mobility. The deutocerebrum includes antennal lobe, which is the center of olfactory systems, while the tritocerebrum, which usually is not developed well, includes endocrine and mobile neurons. Unlike other organisms, the auditory and visual systems of insects are relatively degenerated because of their special biological characteristics. They prey, communicate and call mainly depending on the olfactory system, and thus their olfactory systems have been delicately developed. We here reviewed the research progress in the neuronal structure and function of insect brain (central complex, mushroom body and antennal lobe) and the genetic variation of the brain structures (sex dimorphism, differences between developmental stages, insects, and insects and other animals), and summarized the revealed mechanisms that insect brains process and identify odor signals.

Key words: Insect, brain structure, antennal lobe, central complex, mushroom body, signal processing, olfactory coding, olfactory plasticity