INTRODUCTION
The capacity for learning and memory provides
great advantages for animals living in complex, changing environments.
One ubiquitous form of learning, habituation, is characterized by the
waning of a behavioral response that is elicited by repeated, innocuous
stimulation. Habituation broadly influences the interaction of an
organism with the world, preventing recurrent, nonthreatening
environmental stimuli from endlessly distracting the animal from
potentially meaningful stimuli of behavioral significance.
For many years, habituation has been an attractive model for the study
of mechanisms contributing to learning and memory. Habituation is easy
to induce in the laboratory as well as in the field, it is widely
observed in species ranging from the simplest animals to humans, and it
does not involve the generation of new behaviors but only the reduction
of an existing behavior. Additionally, habituation occurs in both
short-term and long-term forms (for reviews, see Harris, 1943
; Thompson
and Spencer, 1966
; Carew and Sahley, 1986
).
To examine the cellular mechanisms contributing to a behavioral
modification such as habituation, it is necessary to link behavioral
and cellular levels of investigation. Neither level alone is sufficient
for a mechanistic analysis, because it is usually not possible to
deduce cellular mechanisms that underlie behavioral change by observing
the behavior alone, and on the other hand, ambiguity can result from
performing a mechanistic analysis on isolated neural systems in which
the behavioral significance of the observed cellular changes is
unknown. One productive strategy to achieve a mechanistic analysis of a
form of learning such as habituation is to develop a preparation in
which, using identical stimulus conditions, habituation can be analyzed
at several levels. The first steps in such an analysis are to
demonstrate that (1) a particular stimulus regime will induce
habituation in a freely moving, behaving animal and (2) the same
stimulus conditions will similarly induce habituation in a reduced
preparation in which the effect of habituation on behavior can be
assessed while, at the same time, a cellular analysis can be carried
out. The experiments presented in this paper satisfy these behavioral
requirements for both short-term and long-term habituation in the
marine mollusk Aplysia.
Habituation was examined in the siphon withdrawal reflex elicited by
mild stimulation of the tail in Aplysia. This tail-induced
reflex, previously used to study forms of learning involving response
augmentation such as that occurring in sensitization (Walters, 1987a
,b;
Scholz and Byrne, 1987
), is easy to elicit and to quantify, and some of
the underlying neural circuitry is known (Walters et al., 1983
; Cleary
and Byrne, 1993
; Fang and Clark, 1993
). In addition, the sensory
organization of the tail offers the advantage of bilateral symmetry:
duplicate copies of the sensory components exist on both sides of the
midline of the animal. Such bilateral sensory representation enables a
useful form of within-animal experimental design, because training can
be arranged so as to differentially activate anatomically separate
sensory clusters by delivering different patterns of tactile
stimulation to separate sides of the tail of the animal (Walters et
al., 1983
). This is particularly helpful for studies of long-term
learning in which nonspecific experimental variables can become
especially prevalent. In this paper we show that in response to
identical stimuli and stimulus patterns, both intact animals and
reduced preparations exhibit side-specific short-term and long-term
habituation. In addition to providing a detailed behavioral description
of habituation in this system, the side-specificity of habituation
provides insight into its underlying cellular organization. The present
work thus provides a useful framework for an analysis of cellular
mechanisms underlying habituation [Stopfer and Carew, 1994
, 1996
(companion paper)].
Some of the results described in this paper have been reported
previously in abstract form (Stopfer and Carew, 1994
).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Intact animals. Adult Aplysia californica
weighing 75-150 gm were collected and shipped by commercial suppliers
(Marinus Supplies and Marine Specimens Unlimited). Animals were housed
and tested individually in floating plastic colanders in an 1140 l
aquarium filled with circulating, cooled (15°C), aerated artificial
seawater (Instant Ocean, Aquarium Systems).
When the animals arrived in the laboratory, they were anesthetized by
immersion in cold (3-5°C) artificial seawater and partially
parapodectomized to reveal the siphon more fully . Thin,
Teflon-insulated silver wires (0.005 inch diameter; Medwire) with 3 mm
uninsulated tips were used as electrodes to elicit the siphon
withdrawal reflex with highly repeatable stimuli. Electrodes were
implanted into the thin muscle layer on both sides of the midline of
the tail, generally about halfway between the tip of the tail and the
insertion of the parapodia, and about halfway between the median of the
tail and its lateral extent (Fig. 1). The other end of
the electrode wire was attached to a miniature gold plug (Wire Pro)
affixed to a small Styrofoam float. Electrodes would remain in place
for many days, trailing securely behind the animal as it locomoted in
its holding pan. The electrodes did not cause any obvious impediment to
the behavior of the animal.
Fig. 1.
Anatomical components of the tail-elicited siphon
withdrawal reflex. Two separate sensory input pathways (left and right
sides of the tail) activate bilaterally symmetric sensory neuron
clusters in the pleural ganglia. These pathways converge on a common
motor output (the siphon motor neurons in the abdominal ganglion),
providing a controlled behavioral assay for habituation. The two
pathways can be activated independently via electrodes implanted on
either side of the tail.
[View Larger Version of this Image (22K GIF file)]
Animals were not handled at any point after the initial surgery;
training and testing were conducted in the home pans of the animals.
Just before an experiment, the gold electrode plugs were connected to
the stimulus apparatus (see Training and Testing) (Fig.
2). During the training phase, the switch determining
the active electrode was hidden; the experimenter timing siphon
movement during training therefore did not know which side of the tail
was receiving training stimulation.
Fig. 2.
Apparatus for studying habituation in freely
moving animals. Stimulator (right) can deliver quantifiable,
mild shock to left or right side electrodes implanted in the tail. The
electrode leads, buoyed on Styrofoam floats, trail behind the
animal.
[View Larger Version of this Image (47K GIF file)]
Reduced preparations. Experiments began when a naive animal
was anesthetized by injecting a quantity of magnesium chloride
sufficient to cause a noticeable inflation of the hydroskeleton; this
was generally ~120 ml. The animal was then placed dorsal-side up in a
wax-bottom dissection tray. The posterior portions of the parapodia
were removed to make the siphon more visible. Next, the animal was
placed ventral-side up, and an incision was made along most of the
length of the foot. The body wall was pinned back to reveal the
digestive tract and the nervous system. The digestive tract was
removed, leaving the CNS plainly visible.
All peripheral nerves were transsected except for the siphon nerve and
the two P9 nerves, which separately innervate the left and right sides
of the tail. The buccal ganglia (which do not participate in the
tail-elicited siphon withdrawal reflex) were dissected away, but the
rest of the CNS (cerebral, pleural, pedal, and abdominal ganglia)
remained intact (see Fig. 7).
Fig. 7.
The reduced preparation. As in the freely moving
animal, both sides of the tail were stimulated by weak electric pulses
delivered by implanted electrodes. Siphon withdrawal response duration
was monitored by an observer, and response amplitude was recorded by an
automated movement transducer. Perfusion lines were placed in the tail
and the aorta.
[View Larger Version of this Image (35K GIF file)]
The CNS was drawn toward the tail, and then most of the body anterior
to the mantle cavity was dissected away. The remaining tail, mantle
organs, and CNS were then transferred to a specially constructed
chamber (see below). The tail was pinned loosely in place, and a
catheter was inserted into the tail. Next, a catheter was also inserted
into the aorta and secured with 6-0 ethilon (Ethicon) surgical thread.
In some experiments, a very fine, lacquer-insulated steel wire (0.001 inch diameter; California Fine Wire) was inserted into the siphon for
use by an automated movement transducer, described below. Reduced
preparations were left to rest for 1 to 2 hr before experiments
began.
Reduced preparation experiments were carried out in a round chamber (25 cm diameter) with a Sylgard (Dow Corning, Corning, NY) bottom. Chilled
water circulated through a coil in the dish, maintaining the bath at
15-18°C. Fresh, aerated, cool Ringer's solution was perfused
through tail and aorta catheters to flush out the remaining magnesium
chloride, to help sustain the viability of the preparation, and to
supply hydrostatic pressure to maximize siphon mobility. A vacuum line
maintained a constant water level in the dish.
Training and testing. Training and testing stimuli in both
freely moving animals and reduced preparation experiments consisted of
brief 60 Hz AC pulses to the tail electrodes. A bath electrode was
provided for current return. The intensity of the stimulus was
calibrated for each site to be slightly above the threshold for
reliably eliciting siphon responses; this empirically determined
intensity ranged from 1 to 10 mA. Stimuli were generated by an AC
stimulator consisting of an isolation transformer and a variable
transformer that allowed selection of the proper current intensity. The
output of the AC stimulator was gated by timed current pulses from a DC
stimulator (Grass S88, Grass Instruments). Brief, 100 msec stimuli were
used to prevent the animal from having enough time during the stimulus
to change the position of its tail and thereby gain any opportunity to
affect the stimulus intensity. In terms of the elicited behavior, these
electrical stimuli were equivalent to weak tactile stimuli, causing
modest but clear siphon withdrawal reflexes, but no behavioral signs of
a reaction appropriate to a noxious stimulus (such as prolonged
withdrawal or inking).
Siphon withdrawal was timed by an observer using a stopwatch from the
start of withdrawal movement to the first indication that the siphon
was beginning to relax to its rest position. For some experiments a
siphon movement transducer was used. This device enveloped the siphon
in an electric field that could be detected by the siphon antenna wire.
The device generated a voltage directly proportional to the position of
the siphon within the electric field. This voltage could be recorded
and graphed by a computer, thus maintaining an objective record of
siphon movement. The extremely fine antenna wire caused no tension or
pull on the siphon and did not seem to alter its behavior in any way.
Siphon reflex responses that were monitored by computer were also timed
by an observer. These human- and computer-generated records were
compared later and were found to correlate extremely well, which aided
in the development of automated analysis software for use in cellular
experiments that are described elsewhere [Stopfer and Carew, 1994
,
1996
(companion paper)].
Experiments made use of within-animal controls such that one site on
the tail received a training protocol (pretests, training, and tests)
and another site on the tail received a control protocol (only the
pretests and tests). In all cases, experiments were conducted blind;
the observer testing siphon movement did not know the group designation
of either side of the animal. Stimulus intensity was calibrated
individually for each stimulus site to elicit a small but clear siphon
withdrawal.
Animals first received a series of three bilateral pretests at a
nonhabituating (10 min) ISI; stimuli were delivered every 5 min to
alternate sides of the tail. Siphon withdrawal was measured after each
stimulus. To determine which side of each animal would receive
habituation training, the pretest responses for each side of each
animal were averaged and then counterbalanced between animals. Thus,
the mean pretest response duration for trained sites was roughly the
same as for control sites.
Training sets consisted of 20 or 30 stimuli delivered at a 30 sec ISI.
Short-term training consisted of a single set; testing was conducted 5 min after the training set. In long-term experiments, training
consisted of four additional sets with a 90 min interval between each
set, delivered to preparations that had just been tested for short-term
habituation. Long-term testing was conducted 24 hr after the final set.
Some of the long-term training protocols were controlled by a computer
timing program that could activate the stimulator.
For one long-term experiment, pairs of electrodes were implanted close
together (within 3 mm of each other) on each side of the tail so that
separate electrodes could be used for testing and training. For another
long-term experiment, the trained side of the tail received the usual
training protocol, whereas the control side received an equivalent
number of stimuli but delivered at a constant, nonhabituating (10 min)
ISI. The two protocols were timed to co-terminate, and testing began 24 hr later.
For a test of generalization of habituation, pairs of differently
spaced electrodes were implanted on the same side or different sides of
the tail. Generalization tests were conducted with ipsilateral
electrodes placed either 1-2 or 2.5-3.5 cm apart. The preparation is
illustrated in Figure 2.
Statistical analysis. Overall statistical significance
was first determined by ANOVA. Subsequent individual planned
comparisons were made by t tests . Multiple
comparisons were made by Newman-Keuls tests. All probability
values are two-tailed. All results are expressed as means ± SEM.
RESULTS
Intact animals
Intact animals exhibit side-specific short-term habituation
After pretesting, each animal received a series of 30 stimuli
delivered at a 30 sec ISI to one side of the tail only. Twelve animals
were used in this experiment. Results are illustrated in Figure
3. The siphon withdrawal response exhibited significant
habituation during the course of training (ANOVA:
F(29,319) = 2.52, p < 0.001).
Fig. 3.
Short-term habituation of tail-elicited siphon
withdrawal. The drawing at the top illustrates electrode
implantation sites on the tail. Training (shaded area
on graph) causes habituation of responses elicited only
on the trained side of the tail; responses elicited at the control side
remain comparable to pretest. Statistical significance
(p < 0.05) in this and subsequent figures is
indicated by these symbols: *, within-group significance (data point is
significantly different from its own pretest); **, between-group
significance (data points above and below symbol
are significantly different from each other); (*), aggregate
significance (the series of data points to the left of the
symbol are significantly different, overall, from one
another).
[View Larger Version of this Image (47K GIF file)]
Bilateral tests were then conducted after the conclusion of training at
~1 and 5 min. Trained- and control-side tests were conducted 30 sec
apart; thus, half of the 1 min tests were actually conducted 1.5 min
after training, and half of the 5 min tests were conducted 5.5 min
after training. In half of the experiments, the trained side was tested
first, and in the other half, the control side was tested first
(decided at random).
Overall, control-side responses were not significantly different from
their own mean pretest scores (ANOVA:
F(4,88) = 0.64, NS). Trained-side
responses, however, were reduced significantly relative to their own
mean prescores (ANOVA: F(4,88) = 3.11, p < 0.05). At the 1 min test, trained-side responses
were reduced significantly, relative to their prescores (dif =
1.04 ± 0.47 sec; Newman-Keuls test, p < 0.05). At the 5 min test, the trained-side response had begun to
recover toward its mean baseline level (dif =
0.75 ± 0.45 sec; Newman-Keuls test, NS).
These results demonstrate that the tail-elicited siphon withdrawal
reflex exhibits short-term habituation and that habituation can be
restricted to the trained side of the animal.
Intact animals exhibit side-specific long-term habituation
Pretests and 24 hr tests (three each) were conducted at a 10 min
ISI. Ten animals were used in these experiments; the results are
illustrated in Figure 4. An ANOVA for the pretests and
tests indicated an overall significant effect of training
(F(5,90) = 5.55, p < 0.001), and a significant interaction between subjects and treatment
(F(5,90) = 3.75, p < 0.005). Moreover, control-side responses did not change significantly
over the course of training (F(5,45) = 0.49, NS). Subsequent comparisons showed that after the training phase,
in the 24 hr test, none of the control-side responses showed any
significant change from their mean baseline responses (test 1: dif =
0.63 ± 0.68 sec; test 2: dif =
0.05 ± 0.72 sec;
test 3: dif = 0.45 ± 0.78 sec; Newman-Keuls test for each,
NS).
Fig. 4.
Long-term habituation of tail-elicited siphon
withdrawal. Vertical gray bars represent intervals between
training sessions (see Materials and Methods for details of training).
Responses elicited at trained stimulation sites showed significant
long-term habituation and savings. Control sites showed no change. See
legend to Figure 3 for statistical significance indicated by
asterisks.
[View Larger Version of this Image (37K GIF file)]
Training, however, had a significant effect on the trained-side
responses, revealed by a within-group ANOVA
(F(5,45) = 8.84, p < 0.001). Further planned comparisons showed that relative to their own
mean baselines, all three trained-side test responses were habituated
significantly (test 1: dif =
3.13 ± 0.36 sec; test 2:
dif =
2.44 ± 0.25 sec; test 3: dif =
3.10 ± 0.50 sec; Newman-Keuls test for each: p < 0.05).
Furthermore, for all three tests, trained-side responses were
significantly reduced compared with control-side responses (test 1:
dif =
1.98 ± 0.15 sec, t(9) = 3.88, p < 0.004; test 2: dif =
1.97 ± 0.33 sec, t(9) = 2.27, p < 0.05; test 3: dif =
2.13 ± 0.39 sec,
t(9) = 2.82, p < 0.05). As
was the case for short-term habituation, there was no significant
generalization of long-term habituation to the control site.
Long-term response decrement can be attributed to habituation
In both the short-term and long-term experiments, trained-side
electrodes (through which both testing and training stimuli were
delivered) were activated more times than control-side electrodes
(which were activated only for tests). This raised the possibility that
the trained-side response decrement observed could result, at least in
part, from peripheral factors arising from differential electrode
activation (e.g., electrode plating, tissue alteration, etc.). To rule
out this possibility, another experiment was performed in which testing
and training were conducted through independent electrodes that were
separated slightly, implanted ~3 mm apart. A pair of electrodes with
comparable spacing was also implanted on the control side. In this way,
identically positioned trained-side test electrodes and control-side
test electrodes were activated an equal number of times. In all other
respects, this experiment was identical to the previous long-term study
(Fig. 4). Ten animals were used. Results are presented in Figure
5.
Fig. 5.
Response decrement of tail-elicited siphon
withdrawal is not caused by a peripheral effect secondary to
differential electrode activation. Pretest and post-test electrodes
were activated an equal number of times. Only the trained side of the
tail showed significant long-term habituation. See legend to Figure 3
for statistical significance indicated by asterisk.
[View Larger Version of this Image (20K GIF file)]
An ANOVA revealed an overall significant effect of training
(F(1,18) = 7.56, p < 0.013). Control-side responses were not affected by training, as
indicated by a planned comparison (dif =
0.43 ± 0.73 sec,
t(9) = 0.60, NS). Trained-side responses,
however, were habituated significantly compared with their own mean
pretest responses, shown by a planned comparison (dif =
1.95 ± 0.47 sec, t(9) = 4.13, p < 0.003).
These results demonstrate that differential response decrement of
tail-elicited siphon withdrawal is not caused by a peripheral effect
secondary to differential electrode activation, because pretest and
test electrodes were activated an equal number of times. Rather, the
response decrement is attributable to habituation. This result also
confirms the side-specific, long-term habituation revealed in the
previous experiment (Fig. 4).
Long-term habituation is sensitive to the stimulus
training pattern
One characteristic of long-term habituation is that some patterns
of stimulation are more effective than others. For example, Carew et
al. (1972)
found that four widely spaced sets of training trials were
much more effective in producing long-term habituation than were massed
training trials. To examine the effect of stimulus pattern, two
different training protocols were delivered to different sides of the
same animal. One side received the habituation protocol described above
(Fig. 4), consisting of 30 stimuli in each of four patterned training
sets; the other side received a nonhabituating, distributed
protocol consisting of an equivalent number of stimuli, delivered at a
consistent 10 min ISI (top of Fig. 6).
Fig. 6.
Long-term habituation is sensitive to the stimulus
training pattern. An equal number of stimuli (120) was delivered to
both sides of the tail. Only the side receiving patterned stimuli (see
Fig. 4) exhibited significant long-term habituation. See legend to
Figure 3 for statistical significance indicated by
asterisk.
[View Larger Version of this Image (20K GIF file)]
Fourteen animals were used; the results are shown in Figure 6. An
overall ANOVA revealed a significant effect of training pattern
(F(1,26) = 1.26, p < 0.02). Furthermore, the patterned training-side test score was
significantly lower than its mean pretest score (dif =
2.84 ± 0.65 sec, t(13) = 4.40, p < 0.001), whereas the control training-side test
score was not changed significantly from its own prescore (dif = 0.61 ± 1.12, t(13) = 0.54, NS). Thus,
as in siphon-elicited siphon withdrawal (Carew et al., 1972
), long-term
habituation of tail-elicited siphon withdrawal is sensitive to the
pattern of stimulation that is used to produce the learning.
Reduced preparation
Reduced preparations exhibit side-specific short-term and
long-term habituation
To study the cellular mechanisms of habituation (including its
acquisition, which requires a reduced preparation), it is important to
produce the response decrement using behavioral stimuli and response
measures identical to those used in the intact animal. To achieve this,
we next examined habituation using stimuli identical to those used in
the previous studies but now in a reduced preparation (see Materials
and Methods), illustrated in Figure 7. Thirteen of these
preparations were used. All stimuli, as well as all training and
testing procedures, were essentially identical to those used in intact
animals. Using these preparations we examined both short-term and
long-term habituation. The results are shown in Figure
8.
Fig. 8.
The reduced preparation exhibits both short- and
long-term habituation. Only stimuli elicited on trained sides of the
tail showed short-term and long-term habituation; stimuli elicited at
control sides elicited stable responses over the 24 hr period. See
legend to Figure 3 for statistical significance indicated by
asterisks.
[View Larger Version of this Image (42K GIF file)]
During training, the siphon withdrawal reflex showed significant
short-term habituation, as indicated by an ANOVA
(F(19,228) = 13.94, p < 0.001). An overall ANOVA comparing pretest and test scores showed that
training had a significant effect on response duration
(F(2,48) = 3.31, p < 0.05). Control-side scores were not significantly affected by training,
as indicated by a planned comparison (dif = 0.68 ± 0.44 sec,
t(12) = 1.55, NS); however, trained-side
responses were significantly reduced (dif =
1.09 ± 0.25 sec, t(12) = 4.46, p < 0.001). These results indicate that the response decrement was not
attributable to nonspecific rundown of the preparation but rather to
habituation induced on the trained side. Habituation endured for at
least 5 min; however, there was a significant amount of spontaneous
recovery during the 5 min between the last training stimulus and the
test stimulus (dif = 0.71 ± 0.14 sec,
t(12) = 4.99, p < 0.001).
Further training (four spaced blocks, each consisting of 30 stimuli
delivered at a 30 sec ISI; training responses not shown) also produced
long-term habituation in the reduced preparation (Fig. 8). Control-side
responses remained similar to their own pretest responses despite the
24 hr delay (dif = 0.06 ± 0.41 sec,
t(12) = 0.15, NS). Trained-side responses,
however, were still significantly decremented (dif =
0.97 ± 0.18 sec, t(12) = 2.89, p < 0.02). As with short-term habituation, these data
demonstrate that the long-term response decrement was not caused by
rundown of the preparation but rather was attributable to the
side-specific induction of habituation.
Habituation can be site-specific even on the same side of
the tail
The previous studies in both intact animals and reduced
preparations showed that habituation can be restricted to a single side
of the tail, presumably because of the independent, bilateral
representation of sensory input beginning with the two sensory neuron
clusters (Fig. 1). In a final set of experiments, we wished to
characterize further the site specificity of habituation by examining
the effects of two training sites on the same sides of the
tail. These experiments were conducted using the reduced preparation.
The first group (n = 5) received training similar to
that of the short-term group described above (Fig. 8) and was intended
as a replication to illustrate the lack of contralateral
generalization. In the second group (n = 9), electrodes
were placed unilaterally at a short distance (1-2 cm) apart. In the
third group (n = 7), both electrodes were again placed
on the same side of the tail, but at a greater distance (2.5-3.5 cm)
apart.
The results of the contralateral electrode group were similar to those
of the previous short-term experiment and are illustrated in Figure
9A. As above, the three pretest responses
were collapsed into a single average score and compared with the 5 min
test response. After training, responses elicited by the contralateral
control electrode were similar to their own pretest responses (dif =
0.30 ± 0.27 sec, t(4) = 0.5, NS),
despite significant habituation at the trained side of the tail
(dif =
3.5 ± 0.04 sec, t(4) = 2.80, p < 0.05). Furthermore, there was a significant
difference between the two test results (dif = 3.2 ± 0.09, t(4) = 2.66, p < 0.05).
Thus, confirming the previous experiment, habituation readily occurred
in the reduced preparation, endured for at least 5 min, and did not
generalize to a test site across the midline of the tail.
Fig. 9.
Habituation response generalization in the reduced
preparation. A, Replicating a result from the previous
experiment, short-term habituation does not generalize to sites across
the midline of the tail. B, Generalization is revealed when
test and training sites are spaced closely (within 2 cm) on one side of
the tail. C, When test and training sites are spaced more
widely (beyond 2.5 cm) on one side of the tail, generalization is not
evident. Thus, habituation can be restricted to relatively small
ipsilateral areas of the tail. See legend to Figure 3 for statistical
significance indicated by asterisks.
[View Larger Version of this Image (29K GIF file)]
The results for the second group (close ipsilateral electrodes) are
shown in Figure 9B. As consistently observed, habituation
training caused a significant decrease in response duration at the
trained site, measured 5 min after training (dif =
1.90 ± 0.12 sec, t(8) = 3.70, p < 0.01). Unlike the contralateral case (Fig. 9A), however,
habituation generalized to the near ipsilateral test site, where
similar, significant response decrement was observed (dif =
2.00 ± 0.20 sec, t(8) = 2.50, p < 0.04). These data demonstrate that habituation
will generalize ipsilaterally to sites within 2 cm of the training
site.
The results of the third group (distant ipsilateral electrodes) are
shown in Figure 9C. Again, the trained-site stimulus
elicited significantly habituated responses 5 min after training
compared with its own pretest response level (dif =
2.20 ± 0.16 sec, t(6) = 2.48, p < 0.05). Habituation, however, did not generalize appreciably to the
distant test site; no significant response decrement was observed when
stimuli were delivered there (dif =
0.60 ± 0.18 sec,
t(6) = 0.79, NS). Thus, the site
specificity of habituation is limited to areas on the tail separated by
at least 2.5 cm.
DISCUSSION
Our results demonstrate that both short-term and long-term
habituation readily occur in the tail-elicited siphon withdrawal reflex
in freely moving animals and in reduced preparations. The within-animal
training control provides a powerful means of assuring that the
response decrement observed after repeated stimulation is in fact
attributable to habituation rather than to some nonspecific general
effect such as fatigue or rundown of the preparation. This control is
particularly important for reduced preparations in which run-down over
time could potentially confound the analysis, especially of long-term
habituation.
Short-term habituation endures for a few minutes and then recovers
spontaneously back to baseline. Extending short-term to long-term
habituation requires more stimuli in a spaced pattern: long-term
habituation occurs when four such training sets are delivered, each set
separated by a 90 min rest. This observation is consistent with the
results of Carew et al. (1972)
, who examined siphon-elicited siphon
withdrawal, and illustrates a common characteristic of habituation:
repeated, patterned stimulation with intervening periods of rest is
often highly effective in producing long-term habituation (also see
Woodworth and Schlosberg, 1964
). In similar fashion, recent results in
Drosophila show that distributed patterning of training in a
Pavlovian conditioning paradigm is highly effective in producing
long-term retention of a learned odor avoidance behavior (Tully et al.,
1994
).
Site specificity for different forms of tail-induced behavioral
plasticity and their neuronal correlates in Aplysia was
first described by Walters (1987a
,b), who showed that both
tail-elicited siphon and tail withdrawal reflexes would exhibit
long-term sensitization only when test stimuli were applied to trained
sites on the tail and not when similar test stimuli were delivered to
bilaterally symmetric control sites. Moreover, Scholz and Byrne (1987)
identified specific biophysical correlates of site-specific long-term
sensitization in the tail-elicited siphon withdrawal reflex.
In our studies we show that intact, freely moving animals and reduced
preparations both exhibit habituation that is side-specific. Thus, both
short-term and long-term habituation can be restricted to a single side
of the animal, corresponding to the separate, bilateral sensory neuron
clusters located in the bilaterally paired pleural ganglia (Walters et
al., 1983
). This side specificity indicates that cellular sites of
plasticity for both short- and long-term habituation must exist
upstream from the motor neurons that receive common interneuronal input
from both sides of the tail (Frost et al., 1988
; and our unpublished
observations), and it suggests the possibility that both short-term and
long-term forms of plasticity may occur at the same or similar cellular
loci.
Generalization experiments in reduced preparations also reveal that
habituation can be restricted even to sites on the same side of the
tail. Habituation will generalize to test sites within a distance of
less than ~2.0 cm on one side of the tail, but not beyond 2.5 cm, or
(as demonstrated in intact animals) to sites across the midline of the
tail. The lack of generalization between two ipsilateral sites suggests
that the mechanisms underlying response decrement can be expressed even
within a subset of sensory neurons (or interneurons) in ipsilateral
neuronal circuits, providing further clues as to possible sites of
neuronal plasticity underlying habituation. As mentioned above, motor
neurons can be ruled out as potential sites of plasticity underlying
habituation, because they provide the final common reflex pathway from
both trained and nontrained sides of the animal. This observation is
consistent with the findings of a wide variety of preparations in which
motor neurons do not seem to be modified intrinsically by habituation
training. These preparations include the spinal cat (Spencer et al.,
1966
), the frog spinal cord, (Farel et al., 1973
), the crayfish escape
reflex (Zucker, 1972
), and the gill withdrawal reflex in
Aplysia (Castellucci et al., 1970
). Finally, the relative
independence of sensory input (even on the same side of the animal) in
producing habituation also provides the behavioral basis for a useful
within-animal control for cellular experiments in which different
sensory neurons, even within a single ganglion, can be used to study
the mechanisms of habituation [Stopfer and Carew, 1994
, 1996
(companion paper)].
Taken collectively, our behavioral results obtained in freely moving
animals and in reduced preparations provide evidence restricting the
potential cellular sites underlying habituation. These results also
provide the necessary foundation for a cellular analysis of
habituation. To further examine questions of mechanism, it is necessary
to perform additional experiments using reduced preparations in which
sensory and motor neuron activity can be examined directly while
simultaneously measuring the habituation of a specific behavioral
response (Stopfer and Carew, 1994
). As described in the companion paper
(Stopfer and Carew, 1996
), in which such a combined behavioral and
cellular analysis is used, the preparations described in this paper
provide a useful system for examining the cellular basis of
habituation, a fundamental form of learning observed throughout the
animal kingdom.