Rapid and persistent suppression of feeding behavior induced by sensitization training in Aplysia.

In Aplysia, noxious stimuli induce sensitization of defensive responses. However, it remains largely unknown whether such stimuli also alter nondefensive behaviors. In this study, we examined the effects of noxious stimuli on feeding. Strong electric shocks, capable of inducing sensitization, also led to the suppression of feeding. The use of multiple training protocols revealed that the time course of the suppression of feeding was analogous to that of sensitization. In addition, the suppression of feeding was present only at the time points in which sensitization was expressed. These results suggest that, in Aplysia, noxious stimuli may produce concurrent changes in neural circuits controlling both defensive and nondefensive behaviors.

Effects of aversive stimuli beyond defensive neural circuits: reduced excitability in an identified neuron critical for feeding in Aplysia.

In Aplysia, repeated trials of aversive stimuli produce long-term sensitization (LTS) of defensive reflexes and suppression of feeding. Whereas the cellular underpinnings of LTS have been characterized, the mechanisms of feeding suppression remained unknown. Here, we report that LTS training induced a long-term decrease in the excitability of B51 (a decision-making neuron in the feeding circuit) that recovered at a time point in which LTS is no longer observed (72 h post-treatment). These findings indicate B51 as a locus of plasticity underlying feeding suppression. Finally, treatment with serotonin to induce LTS failed to alter feeding and B51 excitability, suggesting that serotonin does not mediate the effects of LTS training on the feeding circuit.