Trondheim, Norway Abstract. In male moths, the primary olfactory integration centre, the antennal lobe, consists of two systems. The macroglomerular complex processes pheromone information, while the ordinary glomeruli process plant odour information.
Females lack a macroglomerular complex.
We measured the spatial representation of odours using in-vivo optical recording. No response was found in female antennal lobes. Plant odours elicited combinatorial activity patterns in the ordinary glomeruli in both males and females. No response was found in the MGC of male moths. A clean air puff often led to activity, in both males and females, suggesting that mechano-sensory information is also processed in the antennal lobe.