Forebrain and midbrain structures involved in prey-catching behaviour of toads: stimulus-response mediating circuits and their modulating loops.
In anurans, visual prey information is filtered in the retina and processed in interacting pretectal and tectal retinal projection fields. Neuropeptide Y is involved in pretecto-tectal inhibition. Information related to prey and its location in space is transmitted to the bulbar/spinal motor pattern generating systems by ensembles of efferent tectal and tegmental neurons. This basic stimulus-response (S-R) mediating circuit is influenced by forebrain loops. It is suggested that ventral striatum and lateral thalamic nucleus participate in a loop responsible for gating S-R. The hippocampal pallium modifies S-R via the anterior thalamus with regard to previous experience. Dopaminergic modulation influences prey-catching strategies.
Ewert
J P
JP
Department of Neurobiology, University of Kassel, Germany. ewertjp@aol.com
Buxbaum-Conradi
H
H
Glagow
M
M
Röttgen
A
A
Schürg-Pfeiffer
E
E
Schwippert
W W
WW
D000818:Animals; D002025:Bufonidae / Q000502:physiology*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D011235:Predatory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000502:physiology*
D004298:Dopamine