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Electroreceptors of a weakly electric fish

I. Characterization of tuberous receptor organ tuning

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Summary

Stimulus filtering by tuberous electroreceptors of the weakly electric fishEigenmannia virescens was investigated at the level of the afferent discharge by employing a computer to set the stimulus parameters and to assess the minimum threshold response to sinusoidal electric fields.

With the fishes' electric organ discharge blocked pharmacologically, all tuberous receptors were found to be sharply tuned to sinusoidal stimulus frequencies within the species' range of electric organ discharge frequency. On the average, the frequency vs threshold curves had lowest thresholds of 0.5 mV/cm (ca. 100–200 μV transepithelial voltage), cutoff slopes of −41 dB/decade and 55 dB/decade for low and high frequencies respectively, and a q10db of 0.9. Receptors in individual fish were tuned approximately to the individual's own discharge frequency, but the average best frequency was generally less than the electric organ discharge frequency, suggesting that the receptor filter may be matched to the frequency components of single electric organ discharges rather than the waveform produced by temporal summation of successive discharges.

When stimulated with frequency modulated sinewaves the afferent response is independent of the direction of frequency sweep. Many receptors showed increased responsiveness to twice the best frequency when FM rather than pure tones were presented.

The frequency threshold curves were evaluated in terms of best-frequency threshold, high and low frequency cutoff slopes, and frequency selectivity. Each of these parameters was distributed approximately as would be expected for a single class of receptors. Pairwise analysis of tuning curve characteristics did not suggest receptor subclasses.

Receptor subclasses were not detected even when stimulus-response criterion previously reported to discriminate two subclasses were applied.

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Abbreviations

BF :

best frequency

EOD :

electric organ discharge

FM :

frequency modulated

FTC :

frequency versus threshold curve

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Author notes

  1. Terry A. Viancour

    Present address: Department of Biology, Rice University, 77001, Houston, Texas, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience A-001, University of California, San Diego, USA

    Terry A. Viancour

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

    Terry A. Viancour

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  1. Terry A. Viancour
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Additional information

I thank Dr. T.H. Bullock for the critical, stimulating guidance provided during my tenure in his laboratory. I also thank Drs. J. Bastian, G.D. Lange, and one anonymous referee for critically reading the manuscript and offering helpful suggestions. This research was supported by a U.S.P.H.S. training grant, a University of California Dissertation Fellowship, and grants to Dr. T.H. Bullock from N.S.F. and N.I.N.C.D.S.

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Viancour, T.A. Electroreceptors of a weakly electric fish. J. Comp. Physiol. 133, 317–325 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00661134

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