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Some voluntary C-bends may be Mauthner neuron initiated

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Abstract

Predatory fish sometimes capture a prey fish first by striking it from the side, allowing the predator to consume the stunned prey head first. The rapid body flexion that the predator uses to stun its prey is similar to the “C” shaped maneuver (“C-bend”) that many fish species use when performing a C-start escape response. For most species, one of the two Mauthner neurons initiates the C-start and, together with other reticulospinal neurons, their activity determines the extent of the bend and the ultimate trajectory of the fish. Reported here is initial evidence of previously undescribed behaviors where goldfish strike an object while executing voluntary C-bends that are similar to their C-start escape responses. The overlapping distributions of turn durations, turn angles, and angular velocities suggest that at least some voluntary C-bends are initiated by the Mauthner neuron. This implies that the Mauthner neuron can be activated voluntarily in the absence of predator- or feeding-associated releasing stimuli.

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Abbreviations

S.E.M.:

Standard error of the mean

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Acknowledgments

I am grateful to Drs. Sheri Mizumori and Joseph Sisneros for reading previous versions of this manuscript, to Aiko and Ryan Mizumori Canfield for assistance with data collection, and to two anonymous reviewers for their detailed critiques and suggestions. The procedures reported herein were approved by the University of Washington IACUC and comply with the “Principles of animal care”, publication No. 86-23, revised 1985, of the National Institutes of Health and with the current laws of the USA.

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Campus Box 351525, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    James G. Canfield

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Correspondence to James G. Canfield.

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Canfield, J.G. Some voluntary C-bends may be Mauthner neuron initiated. J Comp Physiol A 193, 1055–1064 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-007-0258-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-007-0258-2

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