Summary
-
1.
Prey capture by a tentacle of the ctenophorePleurobrachia elicits a reversal of beat direction and increase in beat frequency of comb plates in rows adjacent to the catching tentacle (Tamm and Moss 1985).
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2.
These ciliary motor responses were elicited in intact animals by repetitive electrical stimulation of a tentacle or the midsubtentacular body surface with a suction electrode.
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3.
An isolated split-comb row preparation allowed stable intracellular recording from comb plate cells during electrically stimulated motor responses of the comb plates, which were imaged by high-speed video microscopy.
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4.
During normal beating in the absence of electrical stimulation, comb plate cells showed no changes in the resting membrane potential, which was typically about − 60 mV.
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5.
Trains of electrical impulses (5/s, 5 ms duration, at 5–15 V) delivered by an extracellular suction electrode elicited summing facilitating synaptic potentials which gave rise to graded regenerative responses.
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6.
High K+ artificial seawater caused progressive depolarization of the polster cells which led to volleys of action potentials.
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7.
Current injection (depolarizing or release from hyperpolarizing current) also elicited regenerative responses; the rate of rise and the peak amplitude were graded with intensity of stimulus current beyond a threshold value of about −40 mV.
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8.
Increasing levels of subthreshold depolarization were correlated with increasing rates of beating in the normal direction.
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9.
Action potentials were accompanied by laydown (upward curvature of nonbeating plates), reversed beating at high frequency, and intermediate beat patterns.
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10.
TEA increased the summed depolarization elicited by pulse train stimulation, as well as the size and duration of the action potentials. TEA-enhanced single action potentials evoked a sudden arrest, laydown and brief bout of reversed beating.
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11.
Dual electrode impalements showed that cells in the same comb plate ridge experienced similar but not identical electrical activity, even though all of their cilia beat synchronously.
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12.
The large number of cells making up a comb plate, their highly asymmetric shape, and their complex innervation and electrical characteristics present interesting features of bioelectric control not found in other cilia.
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Abbreviations
- ss :
-
subsagittal
- st :
-
subtentacular
- ASW :
-
artificial seawater
- TEA :
-
tetraethylammonium chloride
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Moss, A.G., Tamm, S.L. Electrophysiological control of ciliary motor responses in the ctenophorePleurobrachia . J. Comp. Physiol. 158, 311–330 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00603615
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00603615