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Interactions between the motor systems controlling uropod steering and abdominal posture in crayfish

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Summary

  1. 1.

    The uropod steering equilibrium response in crayfish is facilitated during the spontaneous abdominal posture movement. This facilitation could also be observed when the abdominal flexion or extension command interneuron was electrically stimulated at the circumesophageal commissure.

  2. 2.

    One of the four known statocyst interneurons (C1) which transmit the position signal from the statocysts to the uropods was monitored while the animal was quiescent. It was activated by the extension command stimulation.

  3. 3.

    The interneuron spike frequencies in response to a body tilt of 90° were not significantly different for the quiescent (21.0±1.1 imp/s) and the active (24.1±1.0) states. The spike frequency at 0° differed significantly for the quiescent (4.0±0.5) and the active (14.9±1.1) states.

  4. 4.

    Simultaneous recording from the C1 interneuron and the uropod motoneurons showed that the tilt-increased activity of the C1 interneuron caused the steering response of uropod motoneurons only when the abdominal posture system was activated.

  5. 5.

    We conclude that the facilitatory interaction between the steering and abdominal posture systems takes place between the interneurons and the uropod motoneurons inside the terminal abdominal ganglion. The statocyst interneurons are a controlling but not an initiating or a commanding element for the uropod steering movement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoological Institute, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, 060, Sapporo, Japan

    M. Takahata & M. Hisada

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  1. M. Takahata
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  2. M. Hisada
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Takahata, M., Hisada, M. Interactions between the motor systems controlling uropod steering and abdominal posture in crayfish. J. Comp. Physiol. 157, 547–554 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01351349

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