An electrophysiological and pharmacological study of visceral smooth muscle and its innervation in a mollusc, Poneroplax albida

Do chitons have a brain? New evidence for diversity and complexity in the polyplacophoran central nervous system

Molluscs demonstrate astonishing morphological diversity, and the relationships among clades have been debated for more than a century. Molluscan nervous systems range from simple 'ladder-like' cords to the complex brains of cephalopods. Chitons (Polyplacophora) are assumed to retain many molluscan plesiomorphies, lacking neural condensation and ganglionic structure, and therefore a brain. We reconstructed three-dimensional anatomical models of the nervous system in eight species of chitons in an attempt to clarify chiton neuroarchitecture and its variability. We combined new data with digitised historic slide material originally used by malacologist Johannes Thiele (1860-1935). Reconstructions of whole nervous systems in Acanthochitona fascicularis, Callochiton septemvalvis, Chiton olivaceus, Hemiarthrum setulosum, Lepidochitona cinerea, Lepidopleurus cajetanus and Leptochiton asellus, and the anterior nervous system of Schizoplax brandtii, demonstrated consistent and substantial anterior neural concentration in the circumoesophageal nerve ring. This is further organised into three concentric tracts, corresponding to the lateral, ventral and cerebral nerve cords. These represent homologues to the three main pairs of ganglia in other molluscs. Their relative size, shape and organisation are highly variable among the examined taxa, but consistent with previous studies of select species, and we formulated a set of neuroanatomical characters for chitons. These support anatomical transitions at the ordinal and subordinal levels; the identification of robust homologies in neural architecture will be central to future comparisons across Mollusca and, more broadly, Lophotrochozoa. Contrary to almost all previous descriptions, the size and structure of the chiton anterior nerve ring unambiguously qualify it as a true brain with cordal substructure.

Responses of the rectum and oesophagus of the snail Helix aspersa to purine nucleotides and nucleosides

1. Purine compounds were examined for pharmacological activity in the rectum and oesophagus of the garden snail Helix aspersa. 2. In the rectum, adenosine, AMP, ADP and ATP (above 10 microM) and acetylcholine (above 1 nM) consistently caused concentration-dependent contractions. The slope of the dose-response curve for ADP in the rectum was significantly steeper than for the other purine compounds. The contractile responses to the nucleotides and acetylcholine, but not adenosine, were selectively potentiated by physostigmine (1 microM). Atropine (1 microM) and tubocurarine (30 microM) failed to block the responses to the purines or acetylcholine. 3. In the oesophagus, adenosine, AMP, ADP and ATP (above 10 microM) and acetylcholine (above 1 nM) caused concentration-dependent contractions that were antagonised by atropine (1 microM). Tubocurarine (30 microM) failed to block the responses to the purine compounds or acetylcholine. Physostigmine (1 microM) potentiated the responses to ADP and acetylcholine but not ATP, AMP or adenosine. 4. In both the rectum and the oesophagus, the synthetic analogues of purine compounds including 2-chloroadenosine, alpha,beta-methylene ATP and 2-methylthio ATP were inactive up to a concentration of 100 microM. 5. Electrical field stimulation of the rectum and oesophagus produced consistent contractions which were unaffected by atropine (1 microM), tubocurarine (30 microM) or physostigmine (1 microM). These responses were not modulated by any of the purine compounds or their stable analogues. 6. The responses obtained appear novel even within known invertebrate purinergic systems, suggesting a differentiation of purinoceptor subtypes in this species.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

A review of the electrophysiological, pharmacological and single channel properties of heart ventricle muscle cells in the snail Lymnaea stagnalis

Although a considerable body of information has accumulated describing the pharmacological properties of a wide range of molluscan muscle types, the physiological bases underlying these properties have not been thoroughly investigated. At present, little is known about the types of ion channels and their regulation in molluscan muscle cell membranes. Voltage-clamp, and more recently, patch-clamp techniques have revealed molluscan muscles possess a complex array of channel types with various pharmacological and electrophysiological properties. The gating properties of these channels and their modulation by chemical agents, however, are still poorly understood. This review summarizes some aspects of molluscan muscle function with particular reference to the heart ventricle muscle of the pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis.

Inputs and outputs of giant neurons B1 and B2 in the buccal ganglia of Helix pomatia: an electrophysiological and morphological study

The identified giant neurons B1 and B2 in the buccal ganglia of Helix pomatia were studied with electrophysiological and morphological techniques in order to establish a baseline for the study of neuronal communication in a relatively simple nervous system. Different synaptic inputs to neurons B1 and B2 were found to come from neurons of the buccal ganglia and to come via buccal nerves. In the epithelium of the pharynx, fibers of bipolar peripheral neurons could be stained, the central fibers of which probably contribute to the synaptic inputs of neurons B1 and B2. The dendrites of neurons B1 and B2 are mainly situated in anterior and lateral parts of the neuropil of the buccal ganglia, respectively. The axon of neuron B1 was traced to the esophagus/stomach. Intracellular stimulation of the neuron induces both a contraction of the longitudinally oriented fibers and an increase in the amplitude of spontaneously occurring peristaltic contractions of the esophagus. The axons of neuron B2 run to both salivary glands. Thin axon collaterals showing multiple swellings follow the bases of the epithelial cells of the salivary gland. The functioning of neurons B1 and B2, which are homologous to giant neurons in the buccal ganglia of other molluscs, is discussed.

Physiological properties of the penis retractor muscle of Aplysia

The properties of the penis retractor muscle of Aplysia have been studied using intracellular, sucrose gap and tension recording. The fibers are of the invertebrate smooth muscle type and exhibit slow contractions which occur spontaneously or in response to stretch in isolated preparations. Individual muscle fibers are innervated by excitatory and inhibitory axons. A variety of sizes of excitatory and inhibitory junctional potentials can be recorded from them. The innervation is probably diffuse and functionally polyneuronal. The fibers are electrically coupled, permeable to potassium and chloride at rest, and exhibit no overshooting active responses. The muscle shows graded responses of depolarization and contraction proportional to strength of nerve stimulation. Facilitation and depression of junctional potentials are seen with various frequencies of nerve stimulation. Post-tetanic potentiation occurs with nerve stimulation at frequencies from 2 to 50 Hz and is suppressed in the presence of increased extracellular calcium concentrations.