Journal of Comparative Physiology A

, Volume 193, Issue 2, pp 271–277 | Cite as

Larval lampreys possess a functional lateral line system

Short Communication
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Revised:
Accepted:

Abstract

Morphology of larval lampreys’ neuromasts was found to be very similar to that of adults. Activity in the lateral line nerve, elicited by a vibrating ball, indicated a functional lateralis system. Analysis revealed at least two populations of afferents, responding to opposite directions of water flow, with adapting responses. The response magnitude increased monotonically with stimulus amplitude. Larval lampreys’ neuromasts were less sensitive than those of teleosts. At low frequencies the response showed a phase lead of 200–220° with respect to the maximum of the ball displacement and a gain that was approximately linearly proportional to frequency.

Keywords

Lateral line Mechanoreception Neuromasts Ammocoetes Locomotion 

Abbreviations

LLS

Lateral line system

PLLN

Posterior lateral line nerve

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Notes

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Mr Timothy Maugel (University of Maryland, Electron Microscopy Laboratory) for assistance with SEM, Dr Tim Kiemel for help with the data analysis, and Dr Christopher Braun (Hunter College, CUNY) for valuable discussion. Experimental procedures were in compliance with the University of Maryland IACUC regulations. This work was supported by NIH grant 1RO1NS054271 to AHC.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 2006

Authors and Affiliations

  • S. Gelman
    • 1
  • A. Ayali
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
  • E. D. Tytell
    • 1
  • A. H. Cohen
    • 1
    • 2
  1. 1.Department of BiologyUniversity of MarylandCollege ParkUSA
  2. 2.Institute for Systems ResearchUniversity of MarylandCollege ParkUSA
  3. 3.Department of ZoologyTel Aviv UniversityTel AvivIsrael

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