Odor responses and spontaneous oscillatory activity in tentacular nerves of the terrestrial slug, Limax marginatus.
We studied the neural oscillatory activity in the peripheral olfactory system of the tentacles in the terrestrial slug, Limax marginatus, by extracellular recording. Recordings from the cut-ends of the inferior tentacular nerves connected to the inferior tentacular ganglia and sensory epithelia showed spontaneous oscillatory activity at frequencies of 0.1-30 Hz. This spontaneous activity was dominated by the 0.6-6 Hz band. Ethanol odor stimulation decreased the amplitude in the 0.6-6 Hz band and increased those in the 6-15 and 15-30 Hz bands. Antagonists of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor, bicuculline and picrotoxin, resulted in suppression of spontaneous activity and modulated the odor response in the 0.6-6 Hz band. Our results indicate the involvement of GABA-mediated oscillatory activity in the tentacular nerves in the olfactory processing in molluscs.
Ito
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I
Laboratory of Animal Behavior and Intelligence, Division of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University, North 10, West 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan.
Kimura
T
T
Ito
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E
D000818:Animals; D001640:Bicuculline / Q000494:pharmacology; D004594:Electrophysiology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology; D018756:GABA Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D008974:Mollusca / Q000502:physiology*; D009424:Nervous System Physiological Phenomena / Q000187:drug effects; D009812:Odorants; D009991:Oscillometry; D010852:Picrotoxin / Q000494:pharmacology; D012903:Smell / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
D001640:Bicuculline; D000431:Ethanol; D018756:GABA Antagonists; D010852:Picrotoxin