Abstract
We use a simple, invertebrate neural circuit to study
neural systems' adaptive ability. The pyloric circuit of the
stomatogastric ganglion is an example of a central pattern
generator that controls muscles needed for food particle sorting in
crustaceans. As a central pattern generator, the pyloric circuit
controls an oscillatory behavior that must be maintained in the
face of a changing environment. A well-studied property of this
circuit is its ability to regain a stable activity rhythm after
losing it for several days due to isolation from neuromodulatory
inputs via decentralization. Previous research supports that this
functional rhythm recovery results from readjustment of cells'
conductance parameters as both a direct response to loss of
neuromodulatory inputs and an indirect response to changes in
cells' own electrical activity. We investigated the circuit's
electrical activity patterns following decentralization in order to
gain a better understanding of the recovery process. We used
continuous extracellular recordings of pyloric activity following
decentralization in both untreated preparations and preparations
treated with chondroitinase ABC, an enzyme known to delay or
prevent reemergence of stable rhythm. We looked for differences in
activity following decentralization between treatment groups and
for aspects of post-decentralization activity that are predictive
of the stable rhythm that is later regained. Across many measures
used to quantify features of electrical activity, we did not find
strong evidence that electrical activity following decentralization
is predictive of adaptive ability.
Table of Contents
List of
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List of
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Introduction..................................................................................................
1
Methods.......................................................................................................
7
Results.........................................................................................................
20
Discussion.....................................................................................................
33
References....................................................................................................
39
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