Multiple neuronal networks coordinate Hydra mechanosensory behavior

eLife

Krishna N Badhiwala¹  Jacob T Robinson²  Abby S Primack³  Celina Juliano³ 

[1] Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, United States;Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, United States;Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, Houston, United States;Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, United States;Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, United States;

关键词: Hydra;    mechanosensory behavior;    regeneration;    sensory-motor response;    diffuse nerve net;    Other;   

DOI  :  10.7554/eLife.64108

来源: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd

【 摘 要 】

Hydra vulgaris is an emerging model organism for neuroscience due to its small size, transparency, genetic tractability, and regenerative nervous system; however, fundamental properties of its sensorimotor behaviors remain unknown. Here, we use microfluidic devices combined with fluorescent calcium imaging and surgical resectioning to study how the diffuse nervous system coordinates Hydra's mechanosensory response. Mechanical stimuli cause animals to contract, and we find this response relies on at least two distinct networks of neurons in the oral and aboral regions of the animal. Different activity patterns arise in these networks depending on whether the animal is contracting spontaneously or contracting in response to mechanical stimulation. Together, these findings improve our understanding of how Hydra’s diffuse nervous system coordinates sensorimotor behaviors. These insights help reveal how sensory information is processed in an animal with a diffuse, radially symmetric neural architecture unlike the dense, bilaterally symmetric nervous systems found in most model organisms.

【 授权许可】

CC BY