Characterization of lobula giant neurons responsive to visual stimuli that elicit escape behaviors in the crab Chasmagnathus

In the grapsid crab Chasmagnathus, a visual danger stimulus elicits a strong escape response that diminishes rapidly on stimulus repetition. This behavioral modification can persist for several days as a result of the formation of an associative memory. We have previously shown that a generic group...

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Autores principales: Medan, V., Oliva, D., Tomsic, D.
Formato: JOUR
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Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00223077_v98_n4_p2414_Medan
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spelling todo:paper_00223077_v98_n4_p2414_Medan2023-10-03T14:31:01Z Characterization of lobula giant neurons responsive to visual stimuli that elicit escape behaviors in the crab Chasmagnathus Medan, V. Oliva, D. Tomsic, D. dye animal cell animal experiment article associative memory behavior behavior modification cell function cell structure controlled study crab decision making escape behavior giant nerve cell male mesencephalon nerve cell plasticity nerve fiber nonhuman priority journal sensory nerve cell visual field visual memory visual stimulation In the grapsid crab Chasmagnathus, a visual danger stimulus elicits a strong escape response that diminishes rapidly on stimulus repetition. This behavioral modification can persist for several days as a result of the formation of an associative memory. We have previously shown that a generic group of large motion-sensitive neurons from the lobula of the crab respond to visual stimuli and accurately reflect the escape performance. Additional evidence indicates that these neurons play a key role in visual memory and in the decision to initiate an escape. Although early studies recognized that the group of lobula giant (LG) neurons consisted of different classes of motion-sensitive cells, a distinction between these classes has been lacking. Here, we recorded in vivo the responses of individual LG neurons to a wide range of visual stimuli presented in different segments of the animal's visual field. Physiological characterizations were followed by intracellular dye injections, which permitted comparison of the functional and morphological features of each cell. All LG neurons consisted of large tangential arborizations in the lobula with axons projecting toward the midbrain. Functionally, these cells proved to be more sensitive to single objects than to flow field motion. Despite these commonalities, clear differences in morphology and physiology allowed us to identify four distinct classes of LG neurons. These results will permit analysis of the role of each neuronal type for visually guided behaviors and will allow us to address specific questions on the neuronal plasticity of LGs that underlie the well-recognized memory model of the crab. Copyright © 2007 The American Physiological Society. Fil:Medan, V. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Fil:Oliva, D. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Fil:Tomsic, D. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. JOUR info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00223077_v98_n4_p2414_Medan
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-134
collection Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic dye
animal cell
animal experiment
article
associative memory
behavior
behavior modification
cell function
cell structure
controlled study
crab
decision making
escape behavior
giant nerve cell
male
mesencephalon
nerve cell plasticity
nerve fiber
nonhuman
priority journal
sensory nerve cell
visual field
visual memory
visual stimulation
spellingShingle dye
animal cell
animal experiment
article
associative memory
behavior
behavior modification
cell function
cell structure
controlled study
crab
decision making
escape behavior
giant nerve cell
male
mesencephalon
nerve cell plasticity
nerve fiber
nonhuman
priority journal
sensory nerve cell
visual field
visual memory
visual stimulation
Medan, V.
Oliva, D.
Tomsic, D.
Characterization of lobula giant neurons responsive to visual stimuli that elicit escape behaviors in the crab Chasmagnathus
topic_facet dye
animal cell
animal experiment
article
associative memory
behavior
behavior modification
cell function
cell structure
controlled study
crab
decision making
escape behavior
giant nerve cell
male
mesencephalon
nerve cell plasticity
nerve fiber
nonhuman
priority journal
sensory nerve cell
visual field
visual memory
visual stimulation
description In the grapsid crab Chasmagnathus, a visual danger stimulus elicits a strong escape response that diminishes rapidly on stimulus repetition. This behavioral modification can persist for several days as a result of the formation of an associative memory. We have previously shown that a generic group of large motion-sensitive neurons from the lobula of the crab respond to visual stimuli and accurately reflect the escape performance. Additional evidence indicates that these neurons play a key role in visual memory and in the decision to initiate an escape. Although early studies recognized that the group of lobula giant (LG) neurons consisted of different classes of motion-sensitive cells, a distinction between these classes has been lacking. Here, we recorded in vivo the responses of individual LG neurons to a wide range of visual stimuli presented in different segments of the animal's visual field. Physiological characterizations were followed by intracellular dye injections, which permitted comparison of the functional and morphological features of each cell. All LG neurons consisted of large tangential arborizations in the lobula with axons projecting toward the midbrain. Functionally, these cells proved to be more sensitive to single objects than to flow field motion. Despite these commonalities, clear differences in morphology and physiology allowed us to identify four distinct classes of LG neurons. These results will permit analysis of the role of each neuronal type for visually guided behaviors and will allow us to address specific questions on the neuronal plasticity of LGs that underlie the well-recognized memory model of the crab. Copyright © 2007 The American Physiological Society.
format JOUR
author Medan, V.
Oliva, D.
Tomsic, D.
author_facet Medan, V.
Oliva, D.
Tomsic, D.
author_sort Medan, V.
title Characterization of lobula giant neurons responsive to visual stimuli that elicit escape behaviors in the crab Chasmagnathus
title_short Characterization of lobula giant neurons responsive to visual stimuli that elicit escape behaviors in the crab Chasmagnathus
title_full Characterization of lobula giant neurons responsive to visual stimuli that elicit escape behaviors in the crab Chasmagnathus
title_fullStr Characterization of lobula giant neurons responsive to visual stimuli that elicit escape behaviors in the crab Chasmagnathus
title_full_unstemmed Characterization of lobula giant neurons responsive to visual stimuli that elicit escape behaviors in the crab Chasmagnathus
title_sort characterization of lobula giant neurons responsive to visual stimuli that elicit escape behaviors in the crab chasmagnathus
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00223077_v98_n4_p2414_Medan
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AT olivad characterizationoflobulagiantneuronsresponsivetovisualstimulithatelicitescapebehaviorsinthecrabchasmagnathus
AT tomsicd characterizationoflobulagiantneuronsresponsivetovisualstimulithatelicitescapebehaviorsinthecrabchasmagnathus
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