Abstract
Recordings were made from the nerve innervating the stretch receptors of the abdominal muscle receptor organs and slow extensor muscles of tethered crayfish, Cherax destructor, during so-called “non-giant swimming”. The stretch receptors were active during the flexor phase of swimming but the duration and pattern of activity varied from cycle to cycle. Their pattern of firing was modified by the activity of the large accessory neurons which make direct inhibitory synapses upon them. Neither the stretch receptors nor the accessory neurons were active during the extensor phase of the cycle. The timing and extent of tailfan movements during the period of stretch receptor activity were measured from video records before and after the stretch receptor nerves were cut in the second to fifth segments. The promotion of the tailfan during flexion was significantly delayed and the minimum angle to which the uropods were remoted at the end of flexion significantly larger in denervated animals. We propose that afferent information from the stretch receptors coordinates the timing and extent of tailfan movements according to variations in the positioning and movement of the abdominal segments such that the hydrodynamic efficiency of the tailfan is enhanced on a cycle by cycle basis during non-giant swimming.
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Abbreviations
- A#:
-
abdominal segment number
- Acc:
-
accessory neuron
- LUU:
-
large unidentified unit
- MRO:
-
muscle receptor organ
- NGS:
-
non-giant swimming
- SEMN:
-
slow extensor motor neuron
- SR:
-
stretch receptor neuron
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Acknowledgements
Animal handling and experimentation procedures were in accordance with the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Code of Practice. Research was supported by an Australian Research Council grant to D.L.M. We wish to thank Jo Drummond, Garry Jolley-Rogers, and Blair Patullo for stimulating discussions and assistance with preparation of the manuscript. D.L.M. wishes to acknowledge the generous hospitality of Dr. François Clarac and colleagues who provided facilities at the Laboratoire de Neurobiologie et Mouvements, CNRS, Marseille.
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McCarthy, B., Daws, A. & Macmillan, D.L. The activity of abdominal stretch receptors during non-giant swimming in the crayfish Cherax destructor and their role in hydrodynamic efficiency. J Comp Physiol A 190, 291–299 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-003-0491-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-003-0491-2