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Abstract

Functional analysis of complex insect neuropil by electrophysiological techniques suffers from specific limitations. Because many cell somata are not invaded by electrical signals (Hengstenberg and Hengstenberg 1980), axons or dendrites have to be impaled. The majority of these are, however, too small to be routinely accessible, and, in general, more than two or three cells can rarely be recorded at the same time. Neuroanatomical techniques, on the other hand, resolve even the finest processes of a number of cells. Thus, a technique that would “fixate” the state of physiological activity in nervous tissue and visualize it along with its structure would greatly aid the investigation of local neuronal circuits even though it would be ill-suited for investigating temporal characteristics of nervous activity.