Preparing the Periphery for a Subsequent Behavior: Motor Neuronal Activity during Biting Generates Little Force but Prepares a Retractor Muscle to Generate Larger Forces during Swallowing inAplysia

• DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0614-14.2015
• Publication Date: 2015-03-25T16:21:08Z
• Authors: Hui Lu; Jeffrey M. McManus; Miranda J. Cullins; Hillel J. Chiel
• Keywords: Biting; Aplysia; Motor Control; Peristalsis

Some behaviors occur in obligatory sequence, such as reaching before grasping an object. Can the earlier behavior serve to prepare musculature for later behavior? If it does, what is underlying neural mechanism of preparation? To address this question, we examined two feeding marine mollusk Aplysia californica , one which must precede second: biting and swallowing. Biting attempt grasp food. When that successful, animal immediately switches swallowing ingest The main muscle responsible pulling food into buccal cavity during I3 muscle, whose motor neurons B6, B9, B3 have been previously identified. By performing recordings from these vivo intact, behaving animals or vitro a suspended mass preparation, demonstrated frequencies durations increased Using physiological patterns activation drive intracellularly, further activating them using biting-like durations, either alone combination, generated little no force muscle. preceded swallowing-like patterns, however, forces subsequent were significantly enhanced. Sequences with enhanced These results suggest novel enhancing production may be relevant understanding control vertebrates.