Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–2Cite as

Aplysia

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

  • 717 Accesses

Synonyms

Mollusk; Sea slug; Snail

Definition

Aplysia is a species of sea snail, commonly referred to as sea hares because of their posterior tentacles that protrude like ears do in hares.

Introduction

Aplysia became known to the scientific world through the published work of Eric Kandel, a well-known neuroscientist for his research on memory and learning for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2000. Kandel’s breakthrough came through his pioneering work with Aplysia, which provided a wealth of information regarding non-associative learning and its forms (habituation and sensitization).

Habituation and Sensitization in Aplysia

Among low-level organisms, Aplysia has become a fitting model for studies of how neurons and neural circuits regulate behaviors. What attracts scientists into studying them is their simplicity and the huge size of their neurons, which are easy to manipulate and work with. Also, Aplysiaexhibits abilities on learning establishing thus its...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Carew, J. T. (1984). An introduction to cellular approaches used in the analysis of habituation and sensitization in Aplysia. In H. Peeke (Ed.), Habituation, sensitization, and behavior (pp. 205–249). New York: Academic.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Castellucci, V., Pinsker, H., Kupfermann, I., & Kandel, E. R. (1970). Neuronal mechanisms of habituation and dishabituation of the gill-withdrawal reflex in Aplysia. Science, 167(3926), 1745–1748.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moroz, L. L. (2011). Aplysia. Current Biology, 21(2), R60–R61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2010.11.028.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Pinsker, H. M., Hening, W. A., Carew, T. J., & Kandel, E. R. (1973). Long-term sensitization of a defensive withdrawal reflex in Aplysia. Science, 182(4116), 1039–1042.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Androulla Ioannou & Xenia Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous

Authors
  1. Androulla Ioannou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xenia Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xenia Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Menelaos Apostolou

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Ioannou, A., Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous, X. (2018). Aplysia . In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1037-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1037-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation