scholarly journals The Sea Slug,Pleurobranchaea californica: A Signpost Species in the Evolution of Complex Nervous Systems and Behavior

2015 ◽  
pp. icv081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhanor Gillette ◽  
Jeffrey W. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Nervous Systems ◽  
Sea Slug ◽  
Pleurobranchaea Californica ◽  
And Behavior

Brains as Engines of Association

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale Purves
Keyword(s):  
Neural Systems ◽  
Neural Function ◽  
Trial And Error ◽  
Nervous Systems ◽  
The Past ◽  
Sensing Systems ◽  
Lifetime Experience ◽  
Survival And Reproduction ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
And Behavior

Brains as Engines of Association seeks an operating principle of the human brain and is divided into four parts. The first part (“What Nervous Systems Do for Animals”) is intended to set the stage for understanding the emergence of neural systems as promoting what all organisms must accomplish: survival and reproduction. The second part (“Neural Systems as Engines of Association”) lays out the general argument that biological sensing systems face a daunting problem: they cannot measure the parameters of the world in the way physical instruments can. As a result, nervous systems must make and update associations (synaptic connections) on the basis of empirical success or failure over both evolutionary and individual time. The third part (“Evidence that Neural Systems Operate Empirically”) reviews evidence accumulated over the past 20 years that supports this interpretation in vision and audition, the sensory systems that have been most studied from this or any other perspective. Finally, the fourth part (“Alternative Concepts of Neural Function”) considers the pros and cons of other interpretations of how brains operate. The overarching theme is that the nervous systems of humans and every other animal operate on the basis associations between stimuli and behavior made by trial and error over species and lifetime experience.

scholarly journals cAMP, Ca2+, pHi, and NO Regulate H-like Cation Channels That Underlie Feeding and Locomotion in the Predatory Sea Slug Pleurobranchaea californica

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1986-1993
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Green ◽  
Rong-Chi Huang ◽  
Leland Sudlow ◽  
Nathan Hatcher ◽  
Kurt Potgieter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cation Channels ◽  
Sea Slug ◽  
Pleurobranchaea Californica

Defense Mechanisms in Notaspid Snails: Acid Humor and Evasiveness

1991 ◽  
Vol 156 (1) ◽  
pp. 335-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
RHANOR GILLETTE ◽  
MAYUKO SAEKI ◽  
RONG-CHI HUANG
Keyword(s):  
Acid Secretion ◽  
Avoidance Behavior ◽  
Defense Mechanisms ◽  
Body Wall ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Neural Pathways ◽  
Pleurobranchaea Californica ◽  
Local Contraction ◽  
And Behavior

Notaspid snails are known for their defensive skin secretion of sulfuric acid (pH 1–2) in response to noxious stimuli. We observed acid secretion and behavior in five notaspid species, and studied them in detail in Pleurobranchaea californica. All species secreted acid in response to skin abrasion or compression. Moreover, all species showed stereotypic avoidance behavior to acidified sea water less acidic (pH 2–3) then their own secretions. In Pleurobranchaea, secretion could also be stimulated by dilute solutions of taurine, 10−5-10−2moll−1. Secretion began at the stimulated region and spread slowly for about a minute following stimulation. Local contraction and transient edema of the skin were associated with acid secretion. In de-ganglionated preparations secretion could be caused by orthodromic stimulation of body wall nerves, by mechanical stimulation or by taurine. These data suggest that acid secretion is a positive feedback process modulated by inhibitory paths and coordinated by both central and peripheral nervous systems. A picture emerges of a defensive secretory response that provides an additional noxious stimulus initiating or potentiating avoidance behavior. The data also suggest a potential role for taurine release from injured tissue and the existence of specific nociceptive neural pathways regulating complex behavior. In addition to deterring extraspecific predation, acid secretion could regulate interactions between animals of the same species.

scholarly journals A Functional Role for Neutralizing Antibodies in Borna Disease: Influence on Virus Tropism outside the Central Nervous System

1998 ◽  
Vol 72 (11) ◽  
pp. 8884-8892 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Stitz ◽  
K. Nöske ◽  
O. Planz ◽  
E. Furrer ◽  
W. I. Lipkin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neutralizing Antibodies ◽  
Rna Virus ◽  
Passive Immunization ◽  
Cns Infection ◽  
Nervous Systems ◽  
Humoral Immune ◽  
Central Nervous Systems ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Borna Disease

ABSTRACT Borna disease virus (BDV) is a negative-strand RNA virus that infects the central nervous systems (CNS) of warm-blooded animals and causes disturbances of movement and behavior. The basis for neurotropism remains poorly understood; however, the observation that the distribution of infectious virus in immunocompetent rats is different from that in immunoincompetent rats indicates a role for the immune system in BDV tropism: whereas in immunocompetent rats virus is restricted to the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, immunoincompetent rats also have virus in nonneural tissues. In an effort to examine the influence of the humoral immune response on BDV pathogenesis, we examined the effects of passive immunization with neutralizing antiserum in immunoincompetent rats. Serum transfer into immunoincompetent rats did not prevent persistent CNS infection but did result in restriction of virus to neural tissues. These results indicate that neutralizing antibodies may play a role in preventing generalized infection with BDV.

Central Pattern Generator for Escape Swimming in the Notaspid Sea Slug Pleurobranchaea californica

1999 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 654-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Jing ◽  
Rhanor Gillette
Keyword(s):  
Central Pattern Generator ◽  
Electrical Coupling ◽  
Reciprocal Inhibition ◽  
Pattern Generator ◽  
Cycle Number ◽  
Sea Slug ◽  
Pleurobranchaea Californica ◽  
Normal Behavior ◽  
Persistent Firing ◽  
Dorsal Flexion

Central pattern generator for escape swimming in the notaspid sea slug Pleurobranchaea californica. Escape swimming in the notaspid opisthobranch Pleurobranchaea is an episode of alternating dorsal and ventral body flexions that overrides all other behaviors. We have explored the structure of the central pattern generator (CPG) in the cerebropleural ganglion as part of a study of neural network interactions underlying decision making in normal behavior. The CPG comprises at least eight bilaterally paired interneurons, each of which contributes and is phase-locked to the swim rhythm. Dorsal flexion is mediated by hemiganglion ensembles of four serotonin-immunoreactive neurons, the As1, As2, As3, and As4, and an electrically coupled pair, the A1 and A10 cells. When stimulated, A10 commands fictive swimming in the isolated CNS and actual swimming behavior in whole animals. As1–4 provide prolonged, neuromodulatory excitation enhancing dorsal flexion bursts and swim cycle number. Ventral flexion is mediated by the A3 cell and a ventral swim interneuron, IVS, the soma of which is yet unlocated. Initiation of a swim episode begins with persistent firing in A10, followed by recruitment of As1–4 and A1 into dorsal flexion. Recurrent excitation within the As1–4 ensemble and with A1/A10 may reinforce coactivity. Synchrony among swim interneuron partners and bilateral coordination is promoted by electrical coupling among the A1/A10 and As4 pairs, and among unilateral As2–4, and reciprocal chemical excitation between contralateral As1–4 groups. The switch from dorsal to ventral flexion coincides with delayed recruitment of A3, which is coupled electrically to A1, and with recurrent inhibition from A3/IVS to A1/A10. The alternating phase relation may be reinforced by reciprocal inhibition between As1–4 and IVS. Pleurobranchaea’s swim resembles that of the nudibranch Tritonia; we find that the CPGs are similar in many details, suggesting that the behavior and network are primitive characters derived from a common pleurobranchid ancestor.

scholarly journals Orienting and avoidance turning are precisely computed by the predatory sea-slug Pleurobranchaea californica McFarland

2007 ◽  
Vol 210 (4) ◽  
pp. 561-569 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. S. Yafremava ◽  
C. W. Anthony ◽  
L. Lane ◽  
J. K. Campbell ◽  
R. Gillette
Keyword(s):  
Sea Slug ◽  
Pleurobranchaea Californica

scholarly journals The dynamics of neural activation variables

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendrik Reimann ◽  
Jonas Lins ◽  
Gregor Schöner
Keyword(s):  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Cognitive Robotics ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Nervous Systems ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Elementary Building

AbstractThis paper presents a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the elementary building blocks of neurally inspired architectures for cognitive robotics. It provides a brief outline of the fundamental principles by which biological nervous systems link to the environment in terms of perception, cognition, and behavior. We describe a class of dynamic neural activation variable based on these principles. We show that these dynamic neurons have the appropriate stability properties.Adding even simple connections between a small number of nodes is sufficient to constitute systems that make important decisions. Going through these mechanisms in detail, this paper should facilitate the design of neurally inspired architectures for behavior generation in robotic agents.

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