Mechanoreceptors for near-field water displacements in crayfish

1976 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 816-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Wiese
Keyword(s):  
Near Field ◽  
Hair Shaft ◽  
The Body ◽  
Sensory Cells ◽  
Lateral Line System ◽  
Frequency Range ◽  
Behavioral Experiments ◽  
Orthogonal Direction ◽  
Line System ◽  
Morphological Studies

1. Mechanosensory hairs on the surface of the crayfish telson are dually innervated, one sensory cell responding to headward, the other to tailward deflection of the hair. The average conduction velocity of headward elements was 0.8 m/s (variance 0.08) and of tailward elements 1.2 m/s (variance 0.19). In a frequency range from 0.05 to 200 Hz, thresholds were lowest near 20 Hz: 0.08 mum (pp) for headward-sensitive and 0.1 mum (pp) for tailward-sensitive cells. 2. The receptors are displacement sensitive since thresholds are of the same order of magnitude over the frequency range 1-70 Hz when the hair is moved by a vibrating wire loop. With natural stimuli (surface waves), the velocity component of the particle movement (and consequently force) becomes influential. The coding of a broad range of stimulus intensities is aided by variations in mechanical properties of the hair. 3. Marked directionality (better than 4:1), in addition to the dual innervation, enhances vector detection. At least part of this characteristic stems from the hingelike articulation of the hair on the body surface: the hair can be moved easily 40 degrees tailward and 20 degrees headward, but must be forced in the orthogonal direction. Morphological studies indicate the presence of a double pivoted hinge, with rigid guides for movement of the hair shaft. Preliminary results of electron microscope examination show a clearly polarized arrangement of densely packed microtubules in the two dendrites; they appear interconnected in groups of two and three along a line parallel to the sensitivity plane of the receptor. 4. The 50-fold threshold difference between the results of behavioral experiments in lobsters (24) and the data for the individual receptors reported here may be due to improvement in signal-to-noise ratio by central nervous averaging of the input from an estimated 2 X 10(3) receptors (Procambarus), and/or to the kind of threshold criteria applied to individual receptor thresholds. As would be expected (35), the sensory cells of each directional class synapse with separate interneurons: in this way, the organism might employ differential microphones to reduce background noise. 5. The receptors are analogous to those of the lateral-line system in lower vertebrates in having receptors with sensitivities polarized by 180 degrees. These similarities suggest that in both cases monitoring of near field water displacements has proved in essential way of orienting in opaque waters.

Electroreceptors and Direction Specific Arrangement in the Lateral Line System of Salamanders?

1981 ◽  
Vol 36 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 493-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernd Fritzsch
Keyword(s):  
Lateral Line ◽  
Fiber Bundles ◽  
Sensory Cells ◽  
Lateral Line System ◽  
Line System ◽  
Lateral Line Organ ◽  
Posterior Lateral Line ◽  
Afferent Fibers ◽  
Lateral Line Afferents ◽  
Line Organ

Abstract The arrangement of the lateral line afferents of salamanders as revealed by transganglionic staining with horse­ radish peroxidase is described. Each lateral line organ is supplied by two fibers only. In the medulla these two afferent fibers run in separate fiber bundles. It is suggested, that only those fibers contacting lateral line sensory cells with the same polarity form together one bundle. Bundles formed by anterior or posterior lateral line afferents are also clearly separated. Beside the lateral line organs smaller pit organs are described. These organs are supplied by one afferent only which reveals an arrangement in the medulla different from that of the lateral line afferents. Based on anatomical facts, these small pit organs are considered to be electroreceptors. Centrifugally projecting neurons, most probably efferents, are described in the medulla.

scholarly journals The mechanism of the lateral sense organs of fishes

1937 ◽  
Vol 123 (833) ◽  
pp. 472-495 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Lateral Line ◽  
Cranial Nerves ◽  
Sensory System ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Lateral Line System ◽  
Sense Organs ◽  
Line System ◽  
Morphological Studies ◽  
Low Frequency Vibration ◽  
Functional Features

For a long time after their discovery in the seventeenth century the lateral-line canals of fishes were considered to be mucus-secreting organs. In 1850 Leydig described sense organs in the lateral-line canals, and this discovery stimulated a keen interest in the investigation of both the morphological and functional features of the lateral-line system. Morphological studies have yielded a thorough understanding of the structure of these organs (Ewart and Mitchell 1892; Cole 1896; Johnson 1917; von Woellwarth 1933). Physiological studies, though numerous, have been less fruitful. An account of the older work was given by Baglioni (1913), and the more recent work is reviewed by Dykgraaf (1933). The only technique until recently available has been the elimination of the sensory system by nerve section and cauterization, and the comparison of the behaviour of intact and operated fishes in response to various stimuli. With so diffuse a structure as the lateral-line system, receiving its nerve supply from the fifth, seventh, ninth and tenth cranial nerves, this method is particularly inadequate, and involves a violent mutilation of the animal. When one considers the crudity of many of these operations, it is not the uncertainty of the results which is remarkable, but rather that some of the conclusions reached should remain valid to-day in the light of far more penetrating experimental analysis. This method of organ elimination could yield at best only an indication of the kind of stimulus that is effective in evoking the excitation of lateral-line receptors. In current textbooks the conclusion of Parker (1904) that the effective stimulus for the lateral line is low-frequency vibration, and that of Hofer (1907) that it is movement of water (i. e. local currents) have received most notice. The observations of Dykgraaf (1933), who employed the more refined methods of von Frisch’s futterdressur technique, support Hofer’s conclusion, and to some extent also Parker’s. Dykgraaf considers the lateral-line system to be an organ of Ferntastsinn , and if this is taken to mean a mechanoreceptor of such sensitivity that it can function both as a touch organ and as a receptor for disturbances coming from a distance, it is undoubtedly a true description, for it is fully confirmed by the direct electrophysiological studies of Hoagland (1933 a, b, c and d ) and of Schriever (1935). The latter, apparently unacquainted with Hoagland’s work, did little more than to confirm several of his observations.

scholarly journals Localization of Neurotrophin Specific Trk Receptors in Mechanosensory Systems of Killifish (Nothobranchius guentheri)

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (19) ◽  
pp. 10411
Author(s):  
Marialuisa Aragona ◽  
Caterina Porcino ◽  
Maria Cristina Guerrera ◽  
Giuseppe Montalbano ◽  
Maria Levanti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inner Ear ◽  
Hair Cells ◽  
S100 Protein ◽  
Sensory Systems ◽  
Sensory Cells ◽  
Lateral Line System ◽  
Suitable Model ◽  
Trk Receptors ◽  
Line System ◽  
Nothobranchius Guentheri

Neurotrophins (NTs) and their signal-transducing Trk receptors play a crucial role in the development and maintenance of specific neuronal subpopulations in nervous and sensory systems. NTs are supposed to regulate two sensory systems in fish, the inner ear and the lateral line system (LLS). The latter is one of the major mechanosensory systems in fish. Considering that annual fishes of the genus Nothobranchius, with their short life expectancy, have become a suitable model for aging studies and that the occurrence and distribution of neurotrophin Trk receptors have never been investigated in the inner ear and LLS of killifish (Nothobranchius guentheri), our study aimed to investigate the localization of neurotrophin-specific Trk receptors in mechanosensory systems of N. guentheri. For histological and immunohistochemical analysis, adult specimens of N. guentheri were processed using antibodies against Trk receptors and S100 protein. An intense immunoreaction for TrkA and TrkC was found in the sensory cells of the inner ear as well as in the hair cells of LLS. Moreover, also the neurons localized in the acoustic ganglia displayed a specific immunoreaction for all Trk receptors (TrkA, B, and C) analyzed. Taken together, our results demonstrate, for the first time, that neurotrophins and their specific receptors could play a pivotal role in the biology of the sensory cells of the inner ear and LLS of N. guentheri and might also be involved in the hair cells regeneration process in normal and aged conditions.

scholarly journals Afferent and motoneuron activity in response to single neuromast stimulation in the posterior lateral line of larval zebrafish

2014 ◽  
Vol 112 (6) ◽  
pp. 1329-1339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Haehnel-Taguchi ◽  
Otar Akanyeti ◽  
James C. Liao
Keyword(s):  
Lateral Line ◽  
Transfer Functions ◽  
Spike Rate ◽  
The Body ◽  
Neuron Activity ◽  
Afferent Neuron ◽  
Lateral Line System ◽  
Line System ◽  
Larval Zebrafish ◽  
Motoneuron Activity

The lateral line system of fishes contains mechanosensory receptors along the body surface called neuromasts, which can detect water motion relative to the body. The ability to sense flow informs many behaviors, such as schooling, predator avoidance, and rheotaxis. Here, we developed a new approach to stimulate individual neuromasts while either recording primary sensory afferent neuron activity or swimming motoneuron activity in larval zebrafish ( Danio rerio). Our results allowed us to characterize the transfer functions between a controlled lateral line stimulus, its representation by primary sensory neurons, and its subsequent behavioral output. When we deflected the cupula of a neuromast with a ramp command, we found that the connected afferent neuron exhibited an adapting response which was proportional in strength to deflection velocity. The maximum spike rate of afferent neurons increased sigmoidally with deflection velocity, with a linear range between 0.1 and 1.0 μm/ms. However, spike rate did not change when the cupula was deflected below 8 μm, regardless of deflection velocity. Our findings also reveal an unexpected sensitivity in the larval lateral line system: stimulation of a single neuromast could elicit a swimming response which increased in reliability with increasing deflection velocities. At high deflection velocities, we observed that lateral line evoked swimming has intermediate values of burst frequency and duty cycle that fall between electrically evoked and spontaneous swimming. An understanding of the sensory capabilities of a single neuromast will help to build a better picture of how stimuli are encoded at the systems level and ultimately translated into behavior.

The migration of Cercaria X Baylis (Strigeida) within the fish intermediate host

Parasitology ◽  
1959 ◽  
Vol 49 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 173-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Erasmus
Keyword(s):  
Blood Vessels ◽  
Blood System ◽  
The Body ◽  
Lateral Line System ◽  
Serial Sections ◽  
Head Region ◽  
Line System ◽  
Unimodal Distribution ◽  
Numerical Assessment ◽  
Major Route

1. Studies, using serial sections and a method of numerical assessment of the, numbers of cercariae in the various tissues, have shown that cercarial entry occurs through the skin at any point along the length of the fish and also through the gills and pharynx in the head region. The distribution of penetration along the length of the body is not uniform but exhibits a marked concentration in the head region.2. As the time after infection increases, this initial unimodal distribution is maintained and becomes even more restricted.3. Nearly all the cercariae have localized in the eye 12–24 hr. after infection. The few that remain outside the eye after this period appear to be moribund and undergoing phagocytosis.4. The majority of migrating cercariae are present in connective tissue and muscle. Very few occur in the blood system and even fewer in the other organs of the body. The numbers in the blood system show a local anterior concentration in the blood vessels anterior to the heart and in the region of the gills. It seems probable that the blood system does not form the major route of migration.5. Entry into the eye may occur at any point.6. Cercarial migration causes extensive tissue damage, but this is fatal only when major blood vessels are perforated and severe internal haemorrhage results. Interference with the nervous system and lateral line system may be the cause of the orientation disturbances which are sometimes noted within 12 hr. after infection.7. It is suggested that migration through the tissues is achieved mainly by the action of the anterior spination and that the function of the penetration gland cells may be lubricatory and/or adhesive rather than lytic.8. The restricted tissue distribution during migration and the retention of an essentially unimodal distribution of cercariae along the length of the body through-out the whole period of migration suggest that localization in the lens is not achieved by chance migration.

scholarly journals Initiation of locomotion by lateral line photoreceptors in lamprey: behavioural and neurophysiological studies

1995 ◽  
Vol 198 (12) ◽  
pp. 2581-2591 ◽  
Author(s):  
T G Deliagina ◽  
F Ullén ◽  
M-J. Gonzalez ◽  
H Ehrsson ◽  
G N Orlovsky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lateral Line ◽  
The Body ◽  
Lateral Line System ◽  
Tail Region ◽  
Directional Bias ◽  
Line System ◽  
Lateral Line Nerve ◽  
Neurophysiological Studies ◽  
Behavioural Experiments ◽  
The Right

The lateral line system of lampreys includes photoreceptors distributed in the skin of the tail region. These are innervated by the trunk lateral line nerves, and the afferents terminate bilaterally in the medial octavolateral nucleus, crossing the midline through the cerebellar commissure. Stimulation of the dermal photoreceptors by tail illumination initiates locomotion. The present study was performed to characterize the response to illumination in larval and adult lampreys in detail and to elucidate the neuronal pathways responsible for the activation of locomotion. In both larval and adult quiescent lampreys, the response to unilateral illumination of the tail was found to consist of an initial turn followed by rectilinear swimming. The sign and magnitude of the turning angle were not correlated with the laterality of the optic stimulus. In mechanically restrained lampreys, spinalized at the level of segments 15­20, tail illumination evoked a complex motor response in the rostral part of the body, with switches between different patterns of coordination (turns in different directions, locomotion, and turns combined with locomotion). Thus, the response to tail illumination is not a simple reflex, but includes a behavioural choice. Reticulospinal neurones play a crucial role in the initiation of locomotion in lampreys. The response to unilateral tail illumination in rhombencephalic reticular cells was studied with extracellular single-unit recordings. It was found that neurones in the middle and posterior rhombencephalic reticular nuclei were activated bilaterally. Tonic activity or slow bursts (<0.5 Hz) were evoked, in some cases lasting up to 60 s after the stimulation. The response remained bilateral after transection of one lateral line nerve and the cerebellar commissure. Afferents from one side can thus activate reticulospinal cells on both sides through a pathway outside the cerebellar commissure. This bilateral activation of reticulospinal neurones is presumably responsible for the activation of spinal locomotor networks, without any directional bias to the left or the right side, and for the rectilinear swimming observed in behavioural experiments. In the caudal part of the termination area of the lateral line nerve afferents, neurones with contralateral projections were retrogradely stained with horseradish peroxidase. These neurones appear to be likely candidates for mediating the contralateral effects of the lateral line fibres.

The Ionic Composition of the Lateral-Line Canal Fluid of Dogfish

1972 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 653-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer D. Liddicoat ◽  
B. L. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Lateral Line ◽  
Body Surface ◽  
Ionic Composition ◽  
The Body ◽  
Lateral Line System ◽  
Sense Organs ◽  
Canal System ◽  
Line System ◽  
Aquatic Vertebrates ◽  
Definite Pattern

The sense organs of the lateral-line system of lower aquatic vertebrates are mechanoreceptors which respond to water movements. They are distributed over the body, usually in lines which form a definite pattern on the head and along each side of the trunk. In the Cyclostomes the sense organs project from the body surface ('free neuromasts'); in other aquatic vertebrates they are usually housed in canals which are sunk into the dermis and which open at regular intervals to the exterior, although in some teleosts and in all modern amphibia the canal system has been secondarily lost and the neuromasts are once again situated externally.

scholarly journals Organization and physiology of posterior lateral line afferent neurons in larval zebrafish

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 402-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
James C. Liao
Keyword(s):  
Lateral Line ◽  
Spatial Relationship ◽  
Genetic System ◽  
The Body ◽  
Lateral Line System ◽  
Afferent Neurons ◽  
Patch Clamp Recording ◽  
Line System ◽  
Larval Zebrafish ◽  
Posterior Lateral Line

The lateral line system of larval zebrafish can translate hydrodynamic signals from the environment to guide body movements. Here, I demonstrate a spatial relationship between the organization of afferent neurons in the lateral line ganglion and the innervation of neuromasts along the body. I developed a whole cell patch clamp recording technique to show that afferents innervate multiple direction-sensitive neuromasts, which are sensitive to low fluid velocities. This work lays the foundation to integrate sensory neuroscience and the hydrodynamics of locomotion in a model genetic system.

scholarly journals Imaging dipole flow sources using an artificial lateral-line system made of biomimetic hair flow sensors

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (83) ◽  
pp. 20130162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Dagamseh ◽  
Remco Wiegerink ◽  
Theo Lammerink ◽  
Gijs Krijnen
Keyword(s):  
Lateral Line ◽  
Estimation Error ◽  
Near Field ◽  
Dipole Source ◽  
Lateral Line System ◽  
Flow Sensors ◽  
Line System ◽  
Field Environment ◽  
Measurement Results ◽  
Dipole Sources

In Nature, fish have the ability to localize prey, school, navigate, etc., using the lateral-line organ. Artificial hair flow sensors arranged in a linear array shape (inspired by the lateral-line system (LSS) in fish) have been applied to measure airflow patterns at the sensor positions. Here, we take advantage of both biomimetic artificial hair-based flow sensors arranged as LSS and beamforming techniques to demonstrate dipole-source localization in air. Modelling and measurement results show the artificial lateral-line ability to image the position of dipole sources accurately with estimation error of less than 0.14 times the array length. This opens up possibilities for flow-based, near-field environment mapping that can be beneficial to, for example, biologists and robot guidance applications.

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