[Regulation of the length of the snail tentacle by the concentration-dependent contraction].
The tentacle of terrestrial snail with olfactory organs on the tips display complex behavior when snail investigates the new environment. We reconstructed the trajectory of the tentacle in three dimensions from two simultaneous video recordings in freely moving snail without odor and after odor application. We found that without oder the snail displayed continuous environment scanning with elongated tentacles. Odor application elicited startle-like short-term flexions of the tentacle which were independent from odor concentration and concentration-dependent gradual tentacle contraction. Identified central motoneuron MtC3 is known to produce the most part of the central tentacle retraction to the noxious stimuli. In nose-brain preparation the MtC3 responded to odors in concentration-dependent manner similar by dynamics and duration to the concentration-dependent gradual tentacle contraction in intact snail. It suggests that the MtC3 provides the central control of the extent of the scanning area by limiting the tentacle length. The MtC3-related gradual contraction of the tentacle can be aimed to tune the olfactory behavior of the terrestrial snail to the particular odor environment.
Nikitin
E S
ES
Zakharov
I S
IS
Balaban
P M
PM
D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D006372:Helix, Snails / Q000502:physiology*; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology; D014741:Video Recording