title: The effect of carbon monoxide on the function of a crustacean sensory receptor is no different to the effect of hypoxia.
abstract: The crayfish Cherax was used as a model to determine whether there are behavioural and neural effects that can be attributed to a direct carbon monoxide toxicity rather than to the hypoxia it produces. A comparison was made by replacing the oxygen in the ambient liquid with carbon monoxide or with nitrogen. We found that Cherax is resistant to extreme hypoxia produced by either gas, and that there is therefore no meaningful behavioural carbon monoxide toxicity. We describe hypoxia-induced changes in the tonic and phasic activity recorded from in-vitro preparations of the muscle receptor organs that are the same for nitrogen and carbon monoxide substituted saline solutions. We conclude that in the single cells of the muscle receptor organs of Cherax, carbon monoxide has no toxic effects additional to those attributable to hypoxia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Royal Adelaide Hospital, South Australia.
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Parsons
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Macmillan
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D000818:Animals; D003400:Astacoidea / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000633:toxicity*; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000378:metabolism*; D009132:Muscles / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000187:drug effects; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000502:physiology; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D002248:Carbon Monoxide