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Innervation of buccal muscles by multifunctional MA1 neurons in Aplysia kurodai

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Summary

  1. 1.

    Spikes in Aplysia MA1 neurons produced excitatory (EJPs), inhibitory (IJPs), and diphasic inhibitory-excitatory junction potentials in different fibers of the buccal muscles.

  2. 2.

    The IJPs following the MA1 spikes were recorded in the muscle fibers innervated by the jaw-closing motoneurons. The depolarization of muscle fibers produced by the motoneurons was largely suppressed by simultaneous MA1 firing, suggesting that the MA1 neurons make a direct connection to a part of the muscle fibers innervated by these motoneurons and inhibit them.

  3. 3.

    The excitatory and inhibitory components of the junction potentials produced by MA1 were reversibly blocked by hexamethonium and d-tubocurarine, respectively. In contrast, the EJPs produced by the jaw-closing motoneurons were blocked by an amino acid antagonist, suggesting that the MA1 neurons and the jaw-closing motoneurons use different transmitters in the nerve-muscle junctions.

  4. 4.

    The jaw movement produced by the jaw-closing motoneurons was suppressed by simultaneous MA1 firing, and the suppression was released by d-tubocurarine, suggesting that the IJPs produced by MA1 may contribute to the suppression of jaw movement. The firing of MA1 produced the vertical movement of the buccal muscles, which was blocked by hexamethonium, suggesting that the EJPs produced by MA1 may contribute to the vertical movement.

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Abbreviations

2-APB :

2-amino-4-phosphonobutyric acid

APV :

2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid

ARC :

accessory radula closer muscle

ASW :

artificial seawater

DGG γ-d :

glutamylglycine

EJP :

excitatory junction potential

EPSP :

excitatory postsynaptic potential

GDEE :

l-glutamic acid diethyl ester

I 1 + I 3 :

intrinsic buccal muscles I1 and I3

IEJP :

diphasic inhibitory-excitatory junction potential

IJP :

inhibitory junction potential

IPSP :

inhibitory postsynaptic potential

JC1-JC3 :

jaw-closing motoneurons

JO1 :

jaw-opening motoneruon

MA1, MA2 :

prernotor neurons

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, School of Dentistry, Tokushima University, 770, Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima, Japan

    Tatsumi Nagahama & Mitsuru Takata

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  1. Tatsumi Nagahama
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  2. Mitsuru Takata
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Nagahama, T., Takata, M. Innervation of buccal muscles by multifunctional MA1 neurons in Aplysia kurodai . J Comp Physiol A 167, 1–10 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00192401

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