0000000000307246
AUTHOR
T. Teyke
Flow field, swimming velocity and boundary layer: parameters which affect the stimulus for the lateral line organ in blind fish
The data presented support the hypothesis that the flow field supplies the stimulus to the lateral line organ (LLO) in blind cave fish (Anoptichthys jordani). Two basic predictions from the theoretical analysis of the flow field were confirmed: (i) individual blind cave fish prefer particular swimming velocities, (ii) the velocity preferred depends on the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the fish, i.e. the smaller the CSA the higher the swimming velocity. This relationship was found also in experimentally blinded fish of other species. Furthermore, when placed in unfamiliar surroundings, blind cave fish swim at higher velocities than in familiar surroundings for a certain habituation period. T…
Collision with and avoidance of obstacles by blind cave fish Anoptichthys jordani (Characidae).
Blind Mexican cave fish (Anoptichthys jordani) were released into unknown surroundings and their swimming tracks were recorded. During the first 24 h in a new tank, i.e., in unfamiliar environments, the average swimming velocity of the fish was higher than during the remaining time in the tank. Collision with obstacles was recorded by an electrical contact detection method. Single frame analysis of video-recordings revealed that collision can be correlated with tail movements when the fish is close to an obstacle, whereas avoidance correlates with gliding during approach to an obstacle. These behavior patterns are discussed in the context of the flow field hypothesis and inhibition of the l…
Lateralized memory storage and crossed inhibition during odor processing by Limax.
After odor conditioning intact Limax maximus and injecting LY into their haemocoel, labeled groups of neurons are found in either the right or left procerebral lobe but never in both procerebral lobes. This suggests that a competitive interaction occurs between right and left odor processing pathways of which the procerebral lobe is a part. We use the nerve discharge in the external peritentacular nerve evoked by applying a puff of conditioned odor to the nose to document crossed inhibition between left and right odor processing pathways. Responses in the external peritentacular nerve evoked by stimulating one superior nose with a conditioned odor are strongly lateralized as responses occur…
Learning and remembering the environment in the blind cave fishAnoptichthys jordani
1. The swimming behavior of blind cave fish (Anoptichthys jordani) differs in familiar and unfamiliar surroundings. Following release in unfamiliar surroundings, or after alterations of a familiar environment, the fish increase swimming velocity in order to optimize lateral line organ stimulation. Furthermore, they glide along boundary features more often than they do in familiar surroundings. These characteristics of swimming behavior were used to measure the occurrence and duration of exploratory behavior. 2. Fish removed from a familiar environment for as long as 2 days spend less time exploring when returned than when they were initially placed in the environment. After a longer absence…
Novel triplet of flexor muscles in the posterior tentacles of the snail, Helix pomatia.
The anatomy of three novel flexor muscles in the posterior tentacles of Helix pomatia is described. The muscles originate from the ventral side of the sensory pad and are anchored at different sites in the base of the tentacle stem. The muscles span the tentacle and always take the length of the stem which depends on the rate of tentacle protrusion indicating that the muscles are both contractile and extremely stretchable. The three anchoring points at the base of the stem determine three space axes along which the contraction of a muscle or the synchronous contraction of the muscles can move the tentacle in space.
Food-attraction conditioning in the snail, Helix pomatia
Adult pulmonate snails (Helix pomatia) were released equidistant between two types of food, carrot and potato, respectively. Naive snails moved in different directions and did not locate either food above chance, although both foods were readily eaten upon direct contact. After a single carrot feeding episode, 75% of the carrot-fed snails moved directly towards the carrot and ate it. Conversely, potato-fed snails located the potato in 67% of the cases. Snails that were fed apple or lettuce behaved like naive animals, with the majority of animals (75% in both cases) locating neither the carrot nor the potato. The ability of snails to locate this particular food after a single feeding episode…
Pheromones linked to sexual behaviors excite the appetitive phase of feeding behavior of Aplysia fasciata II. Excitation of C-PR, a neuron involved in the generation of appetitive behaviors
Pheromones presumably released by conspecifics amplify both the appetitive and the consummatory components of feeding in Aplysia. These effects can be mimicked by administering homogenate of the large hermaphroditic duct containing atrial gland tissue, as well as peptides from the bag cells. Identified cerebro-pedal regulator (C-PR) neuron is thought to command various behaviors that comprise the appetitive phase of feeding. In a reduced preparation, we investigated the effects on the C-PR of applying these substances to the rhinophores, the sensory organs which detect pheromones. Stimuli that excite feeding in the animal were also found to affect the C-PR. Large hermaphroditic duct homogen…
Pheromones linked to sexual behaviors excite the appetitive phase of feeding behavior of Aplysia fasciata . I. Modulation and excitation of appetitive behaviors
Pheromones presumably secreted by mating conspecifics – as well as homogenates containing tissue that is homologous with the atrial gland – increase the time that Aplysia fasciata spend feeding. This effect is caused by increasing the number of feeding episodes initiated in response to food, whereas the duration of a feeding bout remains unchanged. The increase in the number of feeding episodes is related to increases in head waving and crawling, i.e., appetitive movements that bring the animal into contact with food, as well as an increase in the responsiveness to food after it is contacted. Releasing a homogenate containing atrial gland tissue, or egg laying hormone, in the water near the…
Consequences of food-attraction conditioning in Helix: a behavioral and electrophysiological study
Food-attraction conditioning is a learning phenomenon by which adult Helix pomatia acquire the ability to locate food through exposure to that particular food. Food-conditioned snails can be distinguished from ‘naive’ snails during their approach to food. ‘Naive’ snails keep their tentacles upright — whereas ‘food-conditioned’ animals bend the tentacles down-ward, in a horizontal orientation, pointed in the direction of the food.