Electrophysiological Recording and Analysis of Insect Chemosensory Responses

The elegant behavioral experiments of Dethier (1955) on the chemosensory control of feeding in the blow fly set the stage for the first recordings of individual cell responses by Hodgson et al. (1955). The animals clearly accepted some substances and rejected others, leading Dethier to infer that one chemosensory cell coded for acceptance and another for rejection. When electrophysiological techniques became available, the resulting data indicated that more than one sensory cell mediates each of these behaviors. Further electrophysiological experimentation led to the elucidation of how salt-, sugar-, and water-sensitive cells can interact to regulate feeding behavior (Dethier, 1976). Since then many investigators have incorporated electrophysiology as an invaluable tool in conjunction with behavioral experiments for elucidating the chemosensory basis of behavior.