Category:Gastropod Neuroscience

Revision as of 21:55, 22 April 2007

Overview

Gastropod molluscs (which include the genera Aplysia, Clione, Hermissenda, Lymnaea, and Tritonia) have served as important model systems in neuroscience since the early 1960s. They were attractive for neuroscience research because their nervous systems are relatively small (about 10,000 neurons in the CNS), many neurons are individually identifiable, and the behaviors produced by the nervous system are quite simple. Some of the identified neurons have giant somata (up to 1mm in diameter) making them the largest neuron cell bodies in the animal kingdom. This allowed some of the earliest descriptions of biochemical composition, neurotransmitter actions, and neuronal functions.

Notable research includes Nobel Prize winning work of Eric Kandel [1] on learning and memory using the gill and siphon withdrawal response of Aplysia. Learning and memory, decision making, locomotion, and feeding have all been studied in various Gastropod species.

Contents

General Articles:

• Gastropod Feeding
• Gastropod Genomics
• Gastropod Learning and Memory
• Gastropod Locomotion
• Gastropod Nervous System Development
• Gastropod Nervous System Overview
• Gastropod Phylogeny
• Identified Neurons

Model Systems:

• Aplysia californica
• Clione limacina
• Helisoma trivolvis
• Hermissenda crassicornis
• Lymnaea stagnalis
• Melibe leonina
• Pleurobranchaea californica
• Tritonia diomedea
  • ''Tritonia'' swim CPG,