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Sensitization of theTritoniaEscape Swim,☆☆,

https://doi.org/10.1006/nlme.1997.3816Get rights and content

Abstract

When repeatedly elicited, the oscillatory escape swim of the marine molluscTritonia diomedeaundergoes habituation of the number of cycles per swim. Previous work has shown that this habituation is accompanied by sensitization of another feature of the behavior: latency to swim onset. Here we focused on the behavioral features of sensitization itself. Test swims elicited 5 min after a strong sensitizing head stimulus differed in several ways from control swims: sensitized animals had shorter latencies for gill and rhinophore withdrawal, a shorter latency for swim onset, a lower threshold for swim initiation, and an increased number of cycles per swim. Sensitized animals did not, however, swim any faster (no change in cycle period). A separate experiment found that swim onset latency also sensitized whenTritoniacame into contact with one of their natural predators, the seastarPycnopodia helianthoides,demonstrating the ecological relevance of this form of nonassociative learning. These results define the set of behavioral changes to be explained by cellular studies of sensitization inTritonia.

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    This research was supported by PHS Grants MH48536, NS36500, and NS07373. We thank L. Eliot for comments on the manuscript. We also thank Friday Harbor Laboratories for use of their excellent facilities.

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    Reprint requests should be sent to W. N. Frost at Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, P.O. Box 20708, Houston, TX 77225. Fax: (713) 500-0621. E-mail:[email protected].

    A. RobertsB. L. Roberts

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