Infrared and tactile units in the sensory trigeminal system of python reticulatus

Abstract

During the past decades the infrared sensitivity of certain snakes has received ample interest. Attention was paid to behavioral and ecological aspects, to the structure and function of the receptors and their trigeminal nerve branches as well as to responses at higher brain levels. Previous neuroanatomical studies have shown that the sensory trigeminal nuclei of snakes with infrared sensitivity form two distinct systems.