Summary
-
1.
Cobalt impregnations of the crayfish,Procambarus, mechanoreceptive afferents and interneurons (Fig. 2) indicate that the afferents end with little terminal branching within the ipsilateral ganglionic neuropile in the area of the dendritic arbors of the interneurons.
-
2.
The mechanoreceptive interneurons can be divided into two distinct classes: those that receive excitatory input only via direct afferent connections (primary interneurons) and those that, while they do receive direct afferent connections, receive the majority of their excitatory input from other interneurons (higher-order interneurons) (Pigs. 4, 7–9, Table 2).
-
3.
The connections between afferents and primary interneurons are probabilistic in nature; not all of the tactile afferents from the receptive field of a particular interneuron make functional synaptic contacts with that interneuron, nor do all interneurons that share a receptor surface in their receptive fields receive functional synaptic contacts from the same afferents arising from that surface (Fig. 6, Table 1).
-
4.
Interneuronal input onto higher order interneurons amplifies the impulse bursts arising from phasic mechanical stimuli. Excitation is spread among a pool of interconnected interneurons, leading to prolonged and synchronous bursting following temporally restricted afferent volleys (Figs. 7, 8).
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Barth, F. G.: A phasic proprioceptor in the telson of the crayfishProcambarus clarkii (Girard). Z. vergl. Physiol.48, 181–189 (1964)
Calabrese, R. L., Kennedy, D.: Multiple sites of spike initiation in a single dendritic system. Brain Res.82, 316–321 (1974)
Harreveld, A. van: A physiological solution for freshwater crustaceans. Proc. Soc. exp. Biol. (N.Y.)34, 428–442 (1936)
Henneman, E.: Principles governing the distribution of sensory input to motor neurons. In: The neurosciences third study program (F. O. Schmitt, F. C. Worden, eds.) p. 281–291. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 1974
Hughes, G. M., Wiersma, C. A. G.: Neuronal pathways and synaptic connections in the abdominal nerve of the crayfish. J. exp. Biol.37, 291–301 (1960)
Kennedy, D.: Crayfish interneurons. Physiologist14, 5–30 (1971)
Kennedy, D.: Connections among neurons of different types in Crustacean nervous systems. In: The neurosciences third study program (F. O. Schmitt, F. C. Worden, eds.) p. 379–388. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 1974
Kennedy, D., Calabrese, R. L., Wine, J. J.: Presynaptic inhibition: Primary afferent depolarization in crayfish neurons. Science186, 451–454 (1974)
Kennedy, D., Mellon, DeF., Jr.: Synaptic activation and receptive fields in crayfish interneurons. Comp. Biochem. Physiol.13, 275–300 (1974)
Krasne, F. B.: Excitation and habituation of the crayfish escape reflex: The depolarization response in lateral giant fibers of the isolated abdomen. J. exp. Biol.50, 29–46 (1969)
Larimer, J. L., Kennedy, D.: Innervation patterns of fast and slow muscle in the uropods of crayfish. J. exp. Biol.51, 119–133 (1969)
Pabst, H., Kennedy, D.: Cutaneous mechanoreceptors influencing motor output in the crayfish abdomen. Z. vergl. Physiol.57, 190–208 (1967)
Pitman, T. M., Tweedle, C. D., Cohen, M. J.: Branching of central neurons: Intracellular cobalt injection for light and electron microscopy. Science176, 412–414 (1972)
Preston, J. B., Kennedy, D.: Integrative synaptic mechanisms in the caudal ganglion of the crayfish. J. gen. Physiol.43, 671–681 (1960)
Sandeman, D. C., Okajima, A.: Statocyst-induced eye movement in the crabScylla serrata III. The anatomical projections of sensory and motor neurons and the responses of the motor neurons. J. exp. Biol.59, 17–38 (1973)
Selverston, A. I., Kennedy, D.: Structure and function of identified nerve cells in the crayfish. Endeavour28, 107–113 (1969)
Stretton, A. O. W., Kravitz, E. A.: Neuronal geometry: Determination with a technique of intracellular dye injection. Science162, 132–134 (1968)
Wiersma, C. A. G.: Giant fiber systems of crayfish. A contribution to the comparative physiology of the synapse. J. Neurophysiol.10, 23–38 (1947)
Wiersma, C. A. G., Hughes, G. M.: On the functional anatomy of neuronal units in the abdominal cord of the crayfish,Procambarus clarkii (Girard). J. comp. Neurol.116, 209–228 (1961)
Wilkens, L. A., Larimer, J. L.: Structural and functional morphology of two crayfish interneurons. Amer. Zool.11, 674–675 (1971)
Wilkens, L. A., Larimer, J. L.: The CNS photoreceptor of crayfish: Morphology and synaptic activity. J. comp. Physiol.80, 389–407 (1972)
Wine, J. J.: Crayfish neurons with electrogenic cell bodies: Correlations with function and dendritic properties. Brain Res.85, 92–98 (1975)
Wine, J. J., Krasne, F. B.: The organization of escape behavior in the crayfish. J. exp. Biol.56, 1–18 (1972)
Zucker, R. S.: Crayfish escape behavior and central synapses. I. Neural circuit exciting the lateral giant fibers. J. Neurophysiol.35, 599–620 (1972)
Zucker, R. S.: The joint peristimulus time scatter diagram is an index of the operational significance of a synapse. Brain Res.53, 458–464 (1973)
Zucker, R. A., Kennedy, D., Selverston, A. I.: Neuronal circuit mediating escape responses in crayfish. Science173, 645–650 (1971)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
I am particularly grateful to Dr. Donald Kennedy for advice and help with the experiments. I would also like to thank Dr. Jeffery Wine for many helpful discussions, and the technical staff of the Kennedy laboratory for their assistance.
This research was supported by a National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship and Public Health Service Predoctoral Traineeship (GM 00712-16) to the author and by Public Health Service grant NB 02944 from the National Institutes of Health to Dr. Donald Kennedy.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Calabrese, R.L. Crayfish mechanoreceptive interneurons. J. Comp. Physiol. 105, 83–102 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01380055
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01380055