Evidence for acetylcholine as a neurotransmitter in the statocyst of Octopus vulgaris

Auerbach, B.; Budelmann, Bernd U.

doi:10.1007/bf00251060

Cited by 23 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Recordings from crista cells have shown that the majority of the efferent innervation onto the hair cells and the first-order neurons is inhibitory but excitatory and mixed effects are also present [53,56]. Although electrical, efferent synaptic connections cannot be ruled out, many of the efferent contacts onto the sensory hair cells or the afferent neurons have been shown to be chemically mediated [53,54] with morphological and histochemical evidence for the presence of two types of efferent populations with two different neurotransmitters [50,61,62]. By direct electrical stimulation of the efferents [63,64], while recording the afferent output from the statocyst [51], or by pharmacological application of acetylcholine to mimic inhibitory efferent action and catecholamines to mimic excitatory efferent actions [60], it has been shown that the efferents have very powerful, but selective actions on the statocyst sensory epithelium.…”

Section: Efferent Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cephalopod Neural Networks

Williamson

Chrachri²

2004

Neurosignals

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Cephalopods have arguably the largest and most complex nervous systems amongst the invertebrates; but despite the squid giant axon being one of the best studied nerve cells in neuroscience, and the availability of superb information on the morphology of some cephalopod brains, there is surprisingly little known about the operation of the neural networks that underlie the sophisticated range of behaviour these animals display. This review focuses on a few of the best studied neural networks: the giant fiber system, the chromatophore system, the statocyst system, the visual system and the learning and memory system, with a view to summarizing our current knowledge and stimulating new studies, particularly on the activities of identified central neurons, to provide a more complete understanding of networks within the cephalopod nervous system.

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Section: Efferent Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cephalopod Neural Networks

Williamson

Chrachri²

2004

Neurosignals

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“…High activity of acetylcholinesterase has also been found in the digestive tract (Westermann et al, 1997), the mantle and siphuncle (Westermann et al, 2002) as well as in vessels of the heart of nautiloids (Kleemann and Schipp, 1996) and coleoids (aorta of Sepia officinalis Linné, 1758, afferent branchial vessels of Octopus vulgaris Cuvier, 1797; Schipp, 1987). The localization of acetylcholinesterase in different areas of the nervous system of S. officinalis (Chichery and Chichery, 1974) and O. vulgaris (Barlow, 1971), the statocysts of O. vulgaris (Auerbach and Budelmann, 1986), and the central circulatory organ of S. officinalis (systemic heart; Kling, 1986;branchial heart;Schipp et al, 1986) suggests that acetylcholine is a very common neurotransmitter in cephalopods. It has an excitatory effect on the muscles of the arms, tentacles, head retractors and siphon of Alloteuthis subulata Lamarck, 1798 and Loligo forbesi Steenstrup, 1856 (Bone et al, 1982).…”

Section: Innervationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphological and histological organization of the pyriform appendage of the tetrabranchiate Nautilus pompilius (Cephalopoda, Mollusca)

Spintzik

Springer

Westermann

2008

Journal of Morphology

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The pyriform appendage, an organ only found in nautiloid cephalopods was investigated with histological, histochemical and ultrastructural methods in order to characterize the anatomical and the cytological structure of this organ. The pyriform appendage is situated within the genital septum and lies in close contact with the ventricle of the heart. The proximal side ends blindly near the gonad whereas the distal side is developed into a duct. The duct was observed to open into the mantle cavity in juvenile and adult Nautilus pompilius of both sexes. Injections of India ink in the heart demonstrate that the organ is supplied with hemolymph from an artery that extends from the heart. The pyriform appendage is a hollow organ consisting mainly of glandular tissue. The lumen is covered with a columnar epithelium, the tunica mucosa, consisting of only one cell type containing vacuoles with different inclusions. Underneath the tunica mucosa is the tunica muscularis, which is embedded in connective tissue and folded, enlarging the internal surface. A cuboidal tunica serosa surrounds this organ. The vacuoles and the secretory products contain neutral mucopolysaccharides, glycoproteins and glycolipids. Acid phosphatase and serotonin were localized in the tunica mucosa. Acetylcholinesterase, catecholamines and the tetrapeptide FMRF-amide were demonstrated within the nerve endings of the tunica muscularis indicating a dual "cholinergic-aminergic" neuroregulation, possibly modulated by FMRF-amide. These findings suggest that the pyriform appendage is not a rudimentary organ but instead has distinct biological functions in nautiloid cephalopods, possibly in intraspecific communication.

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“…The efferent inhibition is most likely achieved through activation of a cholinergic system (Auerbach & Budelmann 1986), whereas the excitation is through a catecholaminergic system (Budelmann & Bonn 1982;Williamson 1989c); however, a variety of other neurotransmitter and neuromodulator substances, including gamma aminobutyric acid and various peptides, have also been found to influence the statocysts' activity (Tu & Budelmann 1999, 2000a, and it may be that some or all of these are released from the efferent system, possibly as co-transmitters.…”

Section: Physiological Connections Of the Crista/cupula Network (A) Peripheral Connections And Responsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A model biological neural network: the cephalopod vestibular system

Williamson

Chrachri

2007

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have become increasingly sophisticated and are widely used for the extraction of patterns or meaning from complicated or imprecise datasets. At the same time, our knowledge of the biological systems that inspired these ANNs has also progressed and a range of model systems are emerging where there is detailed information not only on the architecture and components of the system but also on their ontogeny, plasticity and the adaptive characteristics of their interconnections. We describe here a biological neural network contained in the cephalopod statocysts; the statocysts are analogous to the vertebrae vestibular system and provide the animal with sensory information on its orientation and movements in space. The statocyst network comprises only a small number of cells, made up of just three classes of neurons but, in combination with the large efferent innervation from the brain, forms an 'active' sense organs that uses feedback and feed-forward mechanisms to alter and dynamically modulate the activity within cells and how the various components are interconnected. The neurons are fully accessible to physiological investigation and the system provides an excellent model for describing the mechanisms underlying the operation of a sophisticated neural network.

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Evidence for acetylcholine as a neurotransmitter in the statocyst of Octopus vulgaris

Cited by 23 publications

References 29 publications

Cephalopod Neural Networks

Cephalopod Neural Networks

Morphological and histological organization of the pyriform appendage of the tetrabranchiate Nautilus pompilius (Cephalopoda, Mollusca)

A model biological neural network: the cephalopod vestibular system

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