Gabriele UHL - Spider brains and senses

The spider brain differs from that of insects and some neuropils are likely to perform different functions despite the same nomenclature. For example, the mushroom bodies are unlikely to be involved in olfaction in spiders. I will present the general set up of the spider brain and what is known about brain plasticity depending on environmental condition. I will touch upon spider learning and cognition and move on to elucidate current knowledge on spider chemosensing and its role in mate finding and mate assessment.