Which behavior does the lamprey central motor program mediate?
The isolated lamprey spinal cord, when bathed in 2 millimolar D-glutamic acid, will generate a pattern of motor neuron discharge that has generally been assumed to represent the central motor program for swimming. Motion pictures of behaving lampreys were analyzed by a computer algorithm to estimate undulatory movement parameters that could be directly compared with those generated during D-glutamate--induced undulations. The D-glutamate--induced movement parameters were significantly different from those observed during normal behaviors, including swimming, but accurately predicted the undulations produced by spinally transected adult lampreys.
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D005399:Fishes / Q000502:physiology*; D005971:Glutamates / Q000494:pharmacology; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D007798:Lampreys / Q000502:physiology*; D007814:Larva; D008124:Locomotion; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000502:physiology
D005971:Glutamates; D018698:Glutamic Acid