QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by FIELDS, H. L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by FIELDS, H. L.

Journal of Experimental Biology 44,455-468 (1966)
Published by Company of Biologists 1966

Proprioceptive Control of Posture in the Crayfish Abdomen

HOWARD L. FIELDS ¹

¹ Department of Biological Sciences and Neurological Sciences Program, Stanford University, Stanford, California; Department of Physiology, University College London, England

1. The reflex role of the crayfish abdominal muscle receptor organ (MRO) was studied in intact preparations under relatively physiological conditions by electro-physiological and photographic methods.

2. By separately stretching the receptor muscles of the two receptors in each half-segment it was found that discharge of the tonic MRO is sufficient to evoke activity in the tonic superficial extensors but has no effect on the deep twitch extensors. No effect on either muscle group was produced by activity in the phasic MRO.

3. Discharge of the tonic MRO was found to activate only one of the five motoneurones supplying the superficial extensors. This motoneurone is generally tonically active and has a low threshold to tactile input. Evidence is given that this motoneuronedoes not innervate the receptor muscle of the tonic MRO.

4. The excitatory effect of tonic MRO output on ipsilateral superficial extensor motoneurones is only one-tenth as great in adjacent segments as in the same segment. The effect contralaterally in the same segment is negligible.

5. Simultaneous electrical recording of tonic MRO output with photographic recording of abdominal position proves that the response of the tonic MRO is a function of the difference between actual segment length and some centrally deter-mined ‘desired’ length. Evidence is presented supporting the concept that the tonic MRO functions as an error detector in a follow-up length servo control system which governs the posture of the crayfish abdomen. A model of this system is presented anddiscussed.

Note:

Supported by grants (to Dr Donald Kennedy) from the U.S. Public Health Service (B-2944) and the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AF-AFOSR).

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Iwasaki, A. Ohata, Y. Okada, H. Sekiguchi, and A. Niida Functional organisation of anterior thoracic stretch receptors in the deep-sea isopod Bathynomus doederleini: behavioural, morphological and physiological studies J. Exp. Biol., March 12, 2002; 204(20): 3411 - 3423. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. L. Macmillan and B. W. Patullo Insights for Robotic Design From Studies of the Control of Abdominal Position in Crayfish Biol. Bull., April 1, 2001; 200(2): 201 - 205. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Nakagawa and B. Mulloney Local Specification of Relative Strengths of Synapses between Different Abdominal Stretch-Receptor Axons and their Common Target Neurons J. Neurosci., March 1, 2001; 21(5): 1645 - 1655. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. Mccarthy and D. Macmillan Control of abdominal extension in the freely moving intact crayfish cherax destructor. II. Activity Of the superficial extensor motor neurones J. Exp. Biol., January 1, 1999; 202(2): 183 - 191. [Abstract] [PDF]

				C. H. Page and P. G. Sokolove Crayfish Muscle Receptor Organ: Role in Regulation of Postural Flexion Science, February 11, 1972; 175(4022): 647 - 650. [Abstract] [PDF]

				D. Kennedy, A. I. Selverston, and M. P. Remler Analysis of Restricted Neural Networks Science, June 27, 1969; 164(3887): 1488 - 1496. [PDF]