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Directional sensitivity of the Mauthner cell system to vibrational stimulation in zebrafish larvae

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Summary

  1. 1.

    Extracellular recordings were made from the brains of zebrafish (Brachydanio rerio) larvae with irradiation-induced developmental deletions of one or both Mauthner cells (M-cells).

  2. 2.

    A large extracellular field potential was previously attributed to activity of the M-cell. In two animals with both M-cells deleted, this potential was absent (Fig. 1 C) whereas it was present in animals with just one cell deleted (Fig. 1 B) and in irradiated animals with both M-cells. This correlation provides additional support for the identification of the potential as the M-spike.

  3. 3.

    In 10 larvae loss of one M-cell did not affect the sensitivity of the remaining cell compared with irradiated controls with both M-cells. However, the probability of obtaining an M-spike was approximately 5 times higher when stimulating on the same side as the M-cell body than on the contralateral side. This is accounted for by threshold and latency data which show that in fish with one M-cell, the relative sensitivity of the remaining cell was highest to vibrational stimulation ipsilateral to the M-cell body.

  4. 4.

    These findings suggest that in animals with both M-cells present, the ipsilateral cell would be activated by vibrational stimuli to cause a directional avoidance response. This hypothesis is in accord with previous behavioral observations in the same species.

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Abbreviations

M-cell :

Mauthner cell

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental, Population and Organismic Biology, University of Colorado, 80309, Boulder, Colorado, USA

    Robert C. Eaton

  2. Neurobiology Unit, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, 92093, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA

    Robert C. Eaton

  3. Department of Biology, University of Oregon, 97403, Eugene, Oregon, USA

    Charles B. Kimmel

Authors
  1. Robert C. Eaton
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  2. Charles B. Kimmel
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Additional information

We thank Drs. T.H. Bullock and S. Sarkar (U.C.S.D.) for use of equipment and facilities, and D.S. Faber and S.J. Zottoli for comments on the manuscript. Mr. W.A. Lavender did statistical analyses and figures. Support was provided to R.C.E. from N.S.F. (BNS78-10687) and from a University of Colorado Biomedical Research Support Program grant (N.I.H., RR07013), to C.B.K. from N.S.F. (BNS77-08685) and N.I.H. (NS15001) and to T.H.B. from N.S.F. (BNS77-03262) and P.H.S. (NS00021-30).

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Eaton, R.C., Kimmel, C.B. Directional sensitivity of the Mauthner cell system to vibrational stimulation in zebrafish larvae. J. Comp. Physiol. 140, 337–342 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00606273

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00606273

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