Sensory cutaneous papillae in the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus L.): I. Neuroanatomy and physiology.

Molecules present in an animal's environment can indicate the presence of predators, food, or sexual partners and consequently, induce migratory, reproductive, foraging, or escape behaviors. Three sensory systems, the olfactory, gustatory, and solitary chemosensory cell (SCC) systems detect chemical stimuli in vertebrates. While a great deal of research has focused on the olfactory and gustatory system over the years, it is only recently that significant attention has been devoted to the SCC system. The SCCs are microvillous cells that were first discovered on the skin of fish, and later in amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. Lampreys also possess SCCs that are particularly numerous on cutaneous papillae. However, little is known regarding their precise distribution, innervation, and function. Here, we show that sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus L.) have cutaneous papillae located around the oral disk, nostril, gill pores, and on the dorsal fins and that SCCs are particularly numerous on these papillae. Tract-tracing experiments demonstrated that the oral and nasal papillae are innervated by the trigeminal nerve, the gill pore papillae are innervated by branchial nerves, and the dorsal fin papillae are innervated by spinal nerves. We also characterized the response profile of gill pore papillae to some chemicals and showed that trout-derived chemicals, amino acids, and a bile acid produced potent responses. Together with a companion study (Suntres et al., Journal of Comparative Neurology, this issue), our results provide new insights on the function and evolution of the SCC system in vertebrates.

The swimmeret system of crayfish: a practical guide for the dissection of the nerve cord and extracellular recordings of the motor pattern.

Here we demonstrate the dissection of the crayfish abdominal nerve cord. The preparation comprises the last two thoracic ganglia (T4, T5) and the chain of abdominal ganglia (A1 to A6). This chain of ganglia includes the part of the central nervous system (CNS) that drives coordinated locomotion of the pleopods (swimmerets): the swimmeret system. It is known for over five decades that in crayfish each swimmeret is driven by its own independent pattern generating kernel that generates rhythmic alternating activity . The motor neurons innervating the musculature of each swimmeret comprise two anatomically and functionally distinct populations. One is responsible for the retraction (power stroke, PS) of the swimmeret. The other drives the protraction (return stroke, RS) of the swimmeret. Motor neurons of the swimmeret system are able to produce spontaneously a fictive motor pattern, which is identical to the pattern recorded in vivo. The aim of this report is to introduce an interesting and convenient model system for studying rhythm generating networks and coordination of independent microcircuits for students' practical laboratory courses. The protocol provided includes step-by-step instructions for the dissection of the crayfish's abdominal nerve cord, pinning of the isolated chain of ganglia, desheathing the ganglia and recording the swimmerets fictive motor pattern extracellularly from the isolated nervous system. Additionally, we can monitor the activity of swimmeret neurons recorded intracellularly from dendrites. Here we also describe briefly these techniques and provide some examples. Furthermore, the morphology of swimmeret neurons can be assessed using various staining techniques. Here we provide examples of intracellular (by iontophoresis) dye filled neurons and backfills of pools of swimmeret motor neurons. In our lab we use this preparation to study basic functions of fictive locomotion, the effect of sensory feedback on the activity of the CNS, and coordination between microcircuits on a cellular level.