Segregation of electro- and mechanoreceptive inputs to the elasmobranch medulla

doi:10.1016/0006-8993(80)90067-0

Brain Research

Volume 195, Issue 2, 18 August 1980, Pages 313-321

https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-8993(80)90067-0 Get rights and content

Summary

The anterior lateral line nerve of the thornback ray consists of fibers that innervate head electroreceptive ampullary organs and mechanoreceptive neuromasts. As the anterior lateral line nerve enters the medulla it divides into dorsal and ventral roots. Single unit responses of dorsal root fibers to electric field and mechanical stimuli indicate that the dorsal root consists only of ampullary fibers, whereas the ventral root consists only of mechanoreceptive fibers. The dorsal and ventral roots of the anterior lateral line nerve terminate in the dorsal and medial octavolateralis nuclei respectively, indicating that the dorsal nucleus is the primary electroreceptive nucleus of the elasmobranch medulla and the medial nucleus is the mechanoreceptive nucleus. Averaged evoked potential responses to electric field stimuli could be recorded from the dorsal but not the medial nucleus, further evidence that the dorsal nucleus is the electroreceptive nucleus. A second evoked response to electric field stimuli was elicited from the lateral reticular nucleus, suggesting that the reticular formation may be a secondary target of efferents of the dorsal octavolateralis nucleus. A dorsal octavo-lateralis nucleus exists not only in elasmobranchs, but also in agnathan, chondrostean, dipnoan, and crossopterygian fishes, suggesting that all of these taxa are also electroreceptive.

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^*: Present address: Department of Biology, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn. 06457, U.S.A.

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Brain Research

Summary

References (19)

Responses of central neurons to electrical and magnetic stimuli of the ampullae of Lorenzini in the Black Sea skate

J. comp. Physiol.

Auricular projections in the clearnose skate,Raja eglanteria

Amer. Zool.

Structural and functional organization of the lateral line system of sharks

Amer. Zool.

Ascending projections of anterior and posterior lateral line lobes of the clearnose skate,Raja eglanteria

Anat. Rec.

Acoustic evoked activity in the brain of sharks

J. comp. Physiol.

The Elasmobranch Fishes

The functioning and significance of the lateral line organs

Biol. Rev.

A simple microelectrode for recording from the central nervous system

Nature (Lond.)

The electric sense of sharks and rays

J. exp. Biol.

Cited by (58)

7.07 - Evolution and Development of Lateral Line and Electroreception: An Integrated Perception of Neurons, Hair Cells and Brainstem Nuclei

The Vertebrate Brain Stem as the Primary Site of Behavior Command: Insights from an Amphibian

How Elasmobranchs Sense Their Environment

The virtual dogfish: An environment for modelling neural computations in cerebellar-like circuitry of the elasmobranch electrosensory system

Differences in the dopaminergic innervation of the electroreceptive and mechanoreceptive medullary lateral line nuclei of the ray, Raja radiata

A History of Corollary Discharge: Contributions of Mormyrid Weakly Electric Fish