Journal of comparative physiology

, Volume 86, Issue 4, pp 365–376 | Cite as

Some functional properties of central neurons connected with the lateral-line organs of the catfish (Ictalurus nebulosus)

  • G. N. Andrianov
  • O. B. Ilyinsky
Article
Received:

Summary

  1. 1.

    In the curarized catfishIctalurus nebulosus neuronal responses in the area acustico-lateralis to electrical and mechanical stimulation of the lateral-line organs were studied.

     
  2. 2.

    About 70% of all studied neurons were spontaneously active (0.5–7 imp/s).

     
  3. 3.

    Three main patters of responses to an electrical stimulus were observed: tonic, phasic-tonic and burst-discharge (Fig. 1).

     
  4. 4.

    The relationship between the number of impulses and the log of stimulus duration was linear (Fig. 2, 3).

     
  5. 5.

    Two types of neuronal responses to stimuli of opposite polarities were shown (Fig. 1,4).

     
  6. 6.

    Thresholds for electrical stimulation were in the range of 2.5·10−9–5·10−12 A/mm2 (Fig. 5).

     
  7. 7.

    All neurons are able to measure the intensity of the stimulus of any polarity (Fig. 6).

     
  8. 8.

    The influence of intensity to the responses of the neurons in the medulla oblongata was analyzed (Fig. 2, 7).

     
  9. 9.

    The neurons of the area acustico-lateralis are adapted to the analysis of rather slow than fast changes of the electric field (Fig. 8, 9).

     
  10. 10.

    The neurons showed dual sensitivity to electrical and mechanical stimulation of the lateral-line organs (Fig. 10). It is assumed that such a phenomenon depends on the convergence of impulses from electro- and mechanoreceptors of the lateral-line.

     
  11. 11.

    The properties of the central and peripheral units of the lateral-line of the catfish were compared.

     

Keywords

Electrical Stimulation Functional Property Opposite Polarity Mechanical Stimulation Stimulus Duration 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 1973

Authors and Affiliations

  • G. N. Andrianov
    • 1
  • O. B. Ilyinsky
    • 1
  1. 1.Laboratory of the General Physiology of Reception, Pavlov Institute of PhysiologyThe Academy of Sciences of the USSRLeningrad

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