Central nervous system of the crab Neohelice granulata: A neuroanatomical description

Abstract

We present a study of the CNS of Neohelice granulata performed at both the neuronal cluster and the neuropil level, describing eyestalk ganglia, the thoracic ganglion, and the central brain, with special focus on the latter. This characterization is based on the functional study of the crab´s nervous system during two main phases: visual information processing, and storage of memory. The nervous system delineation uses classical histological techniques as well as immunohistochemistry to characterize cellular clusters and neuropils. This is the first general description of N. granulata nervous system as a whole, at neuropil and cellular level. Few representations of the central nervous system of N. granulata have been published besides the general scheme published by Bond-Buckup et al. (1991).