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Differential responses of two types of electroreceptive afferents to signal distortions may permit capacitance measurement in a weakly electric fish, Gnathonemus petersii

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Summary

Gnathonemus petersii discriminates between ohmic and capacitive objects. To investigate the sensory basis of this discrimination we recorded from primary afférents that innervate either A or B mormyromast sensory cells. Modified and natural electric organ discharges were used as stimuli. In both A and B fibres frequencies below the peak-power frequency (3.8 to 4.5 kHz) of the electric organ discharge caused minimal first-spike latencies and a maximum number of spikes. A fibres did not discriminate phase-shifted stimuli, whereas B fibres responded significantly with a decrease in first-spike latency if the phase shift was only — 1°. In both A and B fibres an amplitude increase caused a decrease in spike latency and an increase in spike number; an amplitude decrease had the reverse effect. If stimulated with quasi-natural electric organ discharges distorted by capacitive objects, the responses of A fibres decreased with increasing signal distortion. In contrast, the responses of B fibres increased until amplitude effects began to dominate. Gnathonemus may use the physiological differences between A and B fibres to detect and discriminate between capacitive and purely ohmic objects.

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Abbreviations

ELL:

electrosensory lateral line lobe

EOD:

electric organ discharge

LFS:

local filtered signal

p-p:

peak-to-peak

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Author notes

  1. Gerhard von der Emde

    Present address: Robert S. Dow Neurological Science Institute, Good Samaritan Hospital and Medical Center, 1120 NW 20th Avenue, 97209, Portland, OR, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universität Regensburg, Zoologisches Institut, W-8400, Regensburg, Germany

    Gerhard von der Emde

  2. Universität Bielefeld, Fakultät für Biologie II, Postfach 8640, W-4800, Bielefeld, Germany

    Horst Bleckmann

Authors
  1. Gerhard von der Emde
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  2. Horst Bleckmann
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von der Emde, G., Bleckmann, H. Differential responses of two types of electroreceptive afferents to signal distortions may permit capacitance measurement in a weakly electric fish, Gnathonemus petersii . J Comp Physiol A 171, 683–694 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00194116

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