Nervous System and Maggot Behavior - Essay Example

The cuticle is 5µm thick in young larvae (36 hours, first instar), 25µm in 60-hour-old larvae (second instar), and 40µm in last (third) instar larvae. In connection to the practicality of the central nervous system of maggots, it is significant to note that Maggots have one unique feature: they keep on recycling especially when it comes to their neurons. Equipped with a nervous system that helps them to crawl and feed, they change into intricate animals with sophisticated behaviors and sensory systems such as flying and walking.

Maggots lack motor neurons that can make the transition into adulthood. During metamorphosis, the neurons start to spread and seek out adult links. To understand the central nervous system of a maggot, it is significant to look at the role that hormones play in initiating these intricate behaviors required to molt. Eclosion hormone is an insect neurohormone that makes the larvae initiate the intricate behaviors required to molt in that it assists in removing an exoskeleton to mobilize the needed changes in the entire central nervous system. The nervous system neurons expand from the nerve body. The dendrites and axons are tied together which helps conduct and transmit signals.

The neurons are categorized as either sensory, interneurons, or motor (Bridal, 2010, p. 52). The sensory neurons help in sending information to the central nervous system from the external and internal environments. Motor neurons assist in carrying information from the central nervous system to muscles, glands, and organs. Lastly, the interneuron spread signals between sensory and motor neurons. The nervous system of a man has motor neurons, unlike maggots that lack motor neurons thus making them unable to transition into adulthood.

The practical conducted reveals that the Maggots have three major sensory receptors, which link with three major ganglia or collections of nerve tissue, which enable the larva to sense their environment and move to food sources. Maggots can respond to odor, temperature, moisture, and chemicals. These sensory organs allow maggots to be attached to or repelled from specific environments. Sensory organs are normally excitable cells that allow information transmission to occur (Sawin, Harris, Campos, & Sokolowski, 1994, p. 355). In connection to the nervous system, it comprises the spinal cord, an intricate network of neurons, and the brain.

This system is very important in that it helps in receiving, sending, and conceptualizing data from all parts of the body. Further, just like discovered in the practical, the nervous system reacts to transformation in the outside environment and helps monitor and coordinate the internal work of body organs. The spinal cord has nerves that assist in transmitting information from body organs and the outside environment to the brain and direct data from the brain to the rest of the body. The spinal cord nerves are fiber-like and travel in two distinct manners. Descending nerves carry data concerning motor function from the brain to other body parts. The ascending nerves transmit data from the body to the brain (Bridal, 2010, p. 89).

To aid their movement, the maggot can respond to light since they have photoreceptors on their heads and can move towards the light, known as positive phototaxis. First instar animals have negative phototaxis responses and third instars are positive phototaxic. The rate of movement and or the degree of change in direction is known as photokinesis (Sawin, Harris, Campos, & Sokolowski, 1994, p. 354). Maggots on the surface are open to becoming prey; therefore, in the first and second instar stages, they bury into the food source and in the third instar stage, they look for a suitable place to bury away from the food source (wandering phase). The nervous system has a midbrain that links the forebrain and the hindbrain. The midbrain is responsible for visual and auditory reactions in addition to motor function. Read More