Work

Effects of aversive stimuli beyond defensive neural circuits: Reduced excitability in an identified neuron critical for feeding in Aplysia

Year: 2012

Type: preprint

Abstract: In Aplysia, repeated trials of aversive stimuli produce long-term sensitization (LTS) of defensive reflexes and suppression of feeding. Whereas the cellular underpinnings of LTS have been characterized, the mechanisms of feeding suppression remained unknown. Here, we report that LTS training induced a long-term decrease in the excitability of B51 (a decision-making neuron in the feeding circuit) that recovered at a time point in which LTS is no longer observed (72 h post-treatment). These findings indicate B51 as a locus of plasticity underlying feeding suppression. Finally, treatment with serotonin to induce LTS failed to alter feeding and B51 excitability, suggesting that serotonin does not mediate the effects of LTS training on the feeding circuit.

Source: Learning & Memory

DOI: 10.1101/lm.028084.112

Authors: Maria E. Shields-Johnson, John S. Hernandez, Cody Torno, Katherine M. Adams, Marcy L. Wainwright, Riccardo Mozzachiodi

Institution: Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi

Language: English

Topic: Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research

Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Awards: G1609929231, Stimulating Research at the College of Notre Dame of MD, G409068263, UMEB: Building Undergraduate ENvironmental Opportunities (BUENO)