Lamina monopolar cells are a class of neurons in the most peripheral
neuropil
Neuropil (or "neuropile") is any area in the nervous system composed of mostly unmyelinated axons, dendrites and glial cell processes that forms a synaptically dense region containing a relatively low number of cell bodies. The most prevalent anat ...
of the
arthropod visual system, the
lamina
Lamina may refer to:
Science and technology
* Planar lamina, a two-dimensional planar closed surface with mass and density, in mathematics
* Laminar flow, (or streamline flow) occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption betwee ...
. Most insects, including flies, have five distinct classes lamina monopolar cells: L1, L2, L3, L4, and L5.
L1, L2, L3, receive direct synaptic input from the photoreceptors in the lamina, and send axons into the second-order neuropil of the visual system, the medulla.
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Insect anatomy
Visual perception