Central and peripheral control of gill movements in Aplysia

Two types of gill contraction in Aplysia were used to study the relation of peripheral and central pathways in controlling behavioral responses in a mollusk. A weak or moderate tactile stimulus to the mantle elicits gill contraction (gill-withdrawal reflex) as a component of a more extensive withdrawal response; a stimulus applied directly to the gill elicits a localized response of the gill pinnule (pinnule response). Central pathways through the abdominal ganglion are both necessary and sufficient for the gill-withdrawal reflex, and motor neuron L7 makes direct connections with gill muscles, without engaging the peripheral plexus. Peripheral pathways are necessary and sufficient for the pinnule response. As a result of the independence of peripheral and central pathways, habituation by repeated tactile stimulation of one pathway does not affect the responsiveness of the other pathway.     

Neuronal generation of the leech swimming movement

The swimming movement of the leech is produced by an ensemble of bilaterally symmetric, rhythmically active pairs of motor neurons present in each segmental ganglion of the ventral nerve cord. These motor neurons innervate the longitudinal muscles in dorsal or ventral sectors of the segmental body wall. Their duty cycles are phase-locked in a manner such that the dorsal and ventral body wall sectors of any given segment undergo an antiphasic contractile rhythm and that the contractile rhythms of different segments form a rostrocaudal phase progression. This activity rhythm is imposed on the motor neurons by a central swim oscillator, of which four bilaterally symmetric pairs of interneurons present in each segmental ganglion appear to constitute the major component. These interneurons are linked intra- and intersegmentally via inhibitory connections to form a segmentally iterated and inter-segmentally concatenated cyclic neuronal network. The network appears to owe its oscillatory activity pattern to the mechanism of recurrent cyclic inhibition.     

From stimulation to undulation: a neuronal pathway for the control of swimming in the leech

Initiation and performance of the swimming movement in the leech (Hirudo medicinalis) are controlled by neurons organized at at least four functional levels-sensory neurons, gating neurons, oscillator neurons, and motor neurons. A paired neuron, designated as Trl, in the subesophageal ganglion of the leech has now been shown to define a fifth level, interposed between sensory and gating neurons. Cell Trl is activated by pressure and nociceptive mechanosensory neurons, which mediate bodywall stimulus-evoked swimming activity in intact leeches. In the isolated leech nervous system, brief stimulation of cell Trl elicits sustained activation of the gating neurons and triggers the onset of swimmning activity. The synaptic interactions between all five levels of control are direct. Discovery of the Trl cells thus completes the identification of a synaptic pathway by which mechanosensory stimulation leads to the swimming movements of the leech.     

Neuronal correlates of behavior in freely moving rats

Firing patterns of single neurons in the hypothalamus, preoptic area, midbrain reticular system, and hippocampus of awake, freely moving female rats were temporally correlated with exploratory sniffing and vibrissa twitching, feeding, lordosis, locomotion, and (or) arousal. These relationships were remarkably stable during continuous observations lasting many hours. During extended periods when certain of these movements were not performed, the correlated neurons showed no action potentials for minutes at a time. Electrical stimulation at certain recording sites elicited behavior patterns whose spontaneous occurrence was accompanied by neuronal activation. Self-stimulation was elicited from sites spontaneously activated during exploratory behavior.     

Direct cortical control of 3D neuroprosthetic devices

Three-dimensional (3D) movement of neuroprosthetic devices can be controlled by the activity of cortical neurons when appropriate algorithms are used to decode intended movement in real time. Previous studies assumed that neurons maintain fixed tuning properties, and the studies used subjects who were unaware of the movements predicted by their recorded units. In this study, subjects had real-time visual feedback of their brain-controlled trajectories. Cell tuning properties changed when used for brain-controlled movements. By using control algorithms that track these changes, subjects made long sequences of 3D movements using far fewer cortical units than expected. Daily practice improved movement accuracy and the directional tuning of these units.     

Neuronal properties of clonal hybrid cell lines derived from central cholinergic neurons

Clonal cell lines derived from specific types of central neurons can be used to identify and characterize properties specific to those neurons. With somatic cell fusion techniques, nine clonal hybrid cell lines have been developed from the septal region of the mouse basal forebrain. Two lines express characteristics typical of cholinergic neurons--choline acetyltransferase activity and immunoreactivity, neurite formation with neurofilament protein immunoreactivity, and aggregation in rotation-mediated cell culture. These cell lines may be useful for studying the trophic interactions that support the development and maintenance of central cholinergic connections.     

Habituation and dishabituation in the absence of a central nervous system

Habituation and dishabituation have been observed in a semi-intact Aplysia preparation in which the central nervous system is removed. The amplitude of withdrawal responses in the gill decreases in proportion to the rate of water drops applied (one drop per 0.5 minute to one drop per 2.5 minutes at 15 degrees C). The effects of habituation last for at least 2 hours. A dishabituated response is elicited by stopping the water drops or electrically stimulating the preparation. Furthermore, the gill contains nerve cell bodies, and habituation and dishabituation appear to be properties of these peripheral neurons.     

The cell and molecular basis of mechanical, cold, and inflammatory pain

Peripheral pain pathways are activated by a range of stimuli. We used diphtheria toxin to kill all mouse postmitotic sensory neurons expressing the sodium channel Nav1.8. Mice showed normal motor activity and low-threshold mechanical and acute noxious heat responses but did not respond to noxious mechanical pressure or cold. They also showed a loss of enhanced pain responses and spontaneous pain behavior upon treatment with inflammatory insults. In contrast, nerve injury led to heightened pain sensitivity to thermal and mechanical stimuli indistinguishable from that seen with normal littermates. Pain behavior correlates well with central input from sensory neurons measured electrophysiologically in vivo. These data demonstrate that Na(v)1.8-expressing neurons are essential for mechanical, cold, and inflammatory pain but not for neuropathic pain or heat sensing.     

Eye-head coordination in monkeys: evidence for centrally patterned organization

Eye-head coordination was investigated by recording from the neck and eye muscles in monkeys. The results show that (i) during eye-head turning, neural activity reaches the neck muscles before the eye muscles, and (ii) all agonist neck muscles are activated simultaneously regardless of the initial head position. Since overt movement of the eyes precedes that of the head, it was concluded that the central neural command initiates the eye-head sequence but does not specify its serial order. Furthermore, it was determined that the compensatory eye movement is not initiated centrally but instead is dependent upon reflex activation arising from movement of the head.     

Plasticity of motor behavior in monkeys with crossed forelimb nerves

Monkeys in which nerves innervating the flexor muscles of the forearm and hand (the ulnar or the median nerve) had been surgically cross-united with the nerve innervating the extensor muscles (the radial nerve), and vice versa, showed excellent (ulnar-radial crosses) to moderate (median-radial crosses) control of movement performance after regeneration. Antagonistic movement responses were seen occasionally, but these were corrected almost immediately. Stimulation of the crossed nerves showed that they had innervated the antagonistic muscle groups. The results reveal the capacity of the primate central nervous system to adapt to gross disturbances imposed on the execution of movements by changes in peripheral innervation.     

An identified neuron (CPR) evokes neuronal responses reflecting food arousal in Aplysia

Feeding behavior of Aplysia is associated with an arousal state characterized by a constellation of maintained behaviors and by a potentiation or depression of responses to specific stimuli. A neuron (the cerebral-pedal regulator or CPR) that has widespread actions on various systems connected with feeding has been identified. CPR excites neurons that modulate or drive (i) body posture, (ii) biting, and (iii) cardiovascular behaviors. CPR also inhibits neurons concerned with defensive responses. Food stimuli, which elicit food arousal in the animal, produce prolonged excitation of the CPR. The results suggest that the CPR may evoke a central motive state representing the neuronal correlate of feeding motivation.     

Histochemical and functional correlations in anterior horn neurons of the cat spinal cord

The histochemical reaction for phosphorylase is completely lost from anterior horn neurons rich in phosphorylase within 72 hours after proximal or distal axonal section. Using this new type of axonal reaction as a marking technique in the anterior horn of the seventh lumbar spinal cord segment of the cat, we demonstrated that (i) alpha motor neurons of slow twitch motor units, like those of fast twitch motor units, are rich in phosphorylase and poor in succinate dehydrogenase, and (ii) interneurons and Renshaw neurons are rich in succinate dehydrogenase and poor in phosphorylase. Gamma motor neurons, because of their small size, are considered to be rich in succinate dehydrogenase and poor in phosphorylase. Thus, anterior horn neurons capable of higher firing frequencies (Renshaw neurons, interneurons, and gamma motor neurons) are richer in mitochondrial oxidative enzyme activity as marked by succinate dehydrogenase. Those firing at lower frequencies (both types of alpha motor neurons) are richer in phosphorylase activity and glycogen content and, thus, apparently better equipped for anaerobic glycolysis.     

兔舌下神经的纤维成分──HRP法研究

用ＨＲＰ法研究了兔舌下神经的纤维成分和起源。将ＨＲＰ注入舌下神经干,舌下神经核内几乎所有神经元均被标记,均为大多极细胞;三叉神经节和Ｃ２－４脊神经节出现大量标记细胞,以直径１５～３０μｍ的小细胞为主;同侧颈上节有大量标记细胞出现。结果表明：舌下神经是含有一般躯体传出、一般躯体传入和一般内脏传出３种成分的混合神经。并对传统舌下神经的概念作了补充和修正。此外,发现多例兔舌下神经干中,仅一例有小神经节存在,由此认为它是一种不恒定结构。对舌下神经干、舌肌及舌粘膜３组标记的感觉神经元比较,推测出舌肌梭本体感觉可能经由三叉神经的舌神经支传导。     

Plasticity of synchronous activity in a small neural net

Electrical activity from three neurons at a time was recorded in a pleural ganglion of Aplysia. Synchonous activity could be temporally patterned by electrical stimulation over a single nerve. After a period of pairing with electrical stimuli over another nerve the degree and time course of the synchrony were altered. Such alterations reverted after 5 to 30 minutes.     

Glial cell diversification in the rat optic nerve

A central challenge in developmental neurobiology is to understand how an apparently homogeneous population of neuroepithelial cells in the early mammalian embryo gives rise to the great diversity of nerve cells (neurons) and supporting cells (glial cells) in the mature central nervous system. Because the optic nerve is one of the several types of glial cells but no intrinsic neurons, it is an attractive place to investigate how neuroepithelial cells diversify. Studies of developing rat optic nerve cells in culture suggest that both cell-cell interactions and intrinsic cellular programs play important parts in glial cell diversification.     

Depolarization and muscarinic excitation induced in a sympathetic ganglion by vasoactive intestinal polypeptide

The effects of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) in the superior cervical ganglion of the cat were studied in vitro and in vivo with sucrose gap and multiunit recording, respectively. At a dose of 0.03 to 0.12 nanomole, VIP produced a dose-dependent, prolonged (3 to 15 minutes) depolarization of the ganglion and enhanced the ganglionic depolarization elicited by the muscarinic agonist acetyl-beta-methylcholine. At a dose of 1.8 to 10 nanomoles, the peptide enhanced and prolonged the postganglionic discharge elicited by acetyl-beta-methylcholine, enhanced muscarinic transmission in ganglia treated with an anticholinesterase agent, and enhanced the late muscarinic discharge elicited by acetylcholine. VIP did not affect the early nicotinic discharge elicited by acetylcholine or by electrical stimulation of the preganglionic nerve. It is concluded that VIP has a selective facilitatory action on muscarinic excitatory mechanisms in the superior cervical ganglion of the cat.     

鸡腔上囊传出神经元的分布——用CB—HRP法研究

将CB—HRP注入鸡腔上囊壁内,支配腔上囊的神经元被标记。支配腔上囊的长轴突型交感节前神经元在胸7—腰荐3(简称T_7—LS_3)髓节的Terni氏柱内,主要位于LS_1—LS_2髓节。在LS_8—LS_(11)髓节中央管背侧和背外侧区有大量标记细胞,主要集中于LS_8髓节,这些标记细胞是支配腔上囊的副交感节前神经元,其轴突大部分行经同侧盆神经到达腔上囊,少数行经对侧的盆神经到达腔上囊。腔上囊的交感节后神经元位于T_6—L_(13)交感干神经节和肾上腺神经节,交感干的标记细胞集中位于LS_9—LS_(11)和LS_2—LS_3。副交感节后神经元位于盆神经和泄殖腔神经节内。在肠神经内有大量的标记细胞。     

Nicotinic antagonists enhance process outgrowth by rat retinal ganglion cells in culture

Functional nicotinic cholinergic receptors are found on mammalian retinal ganglion cell neurons in culture. The neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) can be detected in the medium of many of these retinal cultures, after release presumably from the choline acetyltransferase-positive amacrine cells. The postsynaptic effect of endogenous or applied ACh on the ganglion cells can be blocked with specific nicotinic antagonists. Here it is shown that within 24 hours of producing such a pharmacologic blockade, the retinal ganglion cells begin to sprout or regenerate neuronal processes. Thus, the growth-enhancing effect of nicotinic antagonists may be due to the removal of inhibition to growth by tonic levels of ACh present in the culture medium. Since there is a spontaneous leak of ACh in the intact retina, the effects of nicotinic cholinergic drugs on process outgrowth in culture may reflect a normal control mechanism for growth or regeneration of retinal ganglion cell processes that is exerted by ACh in vivo.     

柄海鞘神经复合体的显微观察

采用甲苯胺蓝染色和Golgi镀银法对柄海鞘神经复合体的结构进行显微观察,并通过免疫组织化学方法对甲硫氨酸脑啡肽在神经复合体中的分布进行了研究。①甲苯胺蓝染色法显示,神经复合体由神经节、神经腺和疏松结缔组织组成;神经节分为皮质部、髓质部和过渡带;神经腺位于神经节背侧面,由腺小叶组成;神经细胞呈深蓝色,神经纤维呈浅蓝色,与背景反差较大。Golgi镀银法显示的结果不理想,神经细胞和神经纤维着色不明显。②免疫组化结果显示,M-ENK在神经复合体中分布广泛,神经细胞、神经纤维及上皮细胞均有Met-ENK阳性反应。     

Thyroid state: effects on pre- and postsynaptic central noradrenergic mechanisms

For hypothyroid rats, spontaneous motor activity was less than that in matched normal controls, and the specific activity of tyrosine hydroxylase in the midbrain was significantly greater than that in controls. Rats made hyperthyroid with thyroxine became hyperactive and showed increased sensitivity to the behaviorally activating effects of norepinephrine administered intraventricularly. In hyperthyroid rats, the specific activity of tyrosine hydroxylase in the midbrain remained within the normal range. These results are consonant with studies that suggested both receptor "tuning" and feedback regulation of activity of enzymes involved in biosynthesis of presynaptic neurotransmitter as methods of regulation of the central catecholamine synapse. These results may also help explain the reported potentiation by thyroid hormone of the antidepressant effects of imipramine.