The neuronal control of cardiac functions in Molluscs

Abstract

In this manuscript, I review the current and relevant classical studies on properties of the Mollusca heart and their central nervous system including ganglia, neurons, and nerves involved in cardiomodulation. Similar to mammalian brain hemispheres, these invertebrates possess symmetrical pairs of ganglia albeit visceral (only one) ganglion and the parietal ganglia (the right ganglion is bigger than the left one). Furthermore, there are two major regulatory drives into the compartments (pericard, auricle, and ventricle) and cardiomyocytes of the heart. These are the excitatory and inhibitory signals that originate from a few designated neurons and their putative neurotransmitters. Many of these neurons are well-identified, their specific locations within the corresponding ganglion are mapped, and some are termed as either heart excitatory (HE) or inhibitory (HI) cells. The remaining neurons are classified as cardio-regulatory, and their direct and indirect actions on the heart’s function have been documented. The cardiovascular anatomy of frequently used experimental animals, Achatina, Aplysia, Helix, and Lymnaea is relatively simple. However, as in humans, it possesses all major components including even trabeculae and atrio-ventricular valves. Since the myocardial cells are enzymatically dispersible, multiple voltage dependent cationic currents in isolated cardiomyocytes are described. The latter include at least the A-type K+, delayed rectifier K+, TTX-sensitive Na+, and L-type Ca2+ channels.

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Predicting the Cardioactivity of Tivela stultorum clam with Digoxin Using Artificial Neural Networks

“…La elección del organismo modelo a utilizar dependerá del estudio que se hará, en este trabajo se utilizó el corazón de T. stultorum debido a que presenta un bajo costo de adquisición, es fácil de manipular y tiene una respuesta uniforme [3,4] . Al igual que en corazones humanos, la superficie endocárdica de corazones de moluscos es similar a los músculos suaves de mamí-feros, además de que su frecuencia cardíaca puede llegar a valores comparables a los de humanos (60 latidos por minuto), este valor puede ser modificado por factores de estrés o compuestos químicos como fármacos [5,6] .…”