The Swimming Circuit in the Pteropod Mollusk Clione limacina

• Main Authors: Arshavsky, Yuri I., Deliagina, Tatiana G., Orlovsky, Grigory N.
• Other Authors: Shepherd, Gordon M., Grillner, Sten
• Format: Book Part
• Language: unknown
• Published: Oxford University Press 2017
• Subjects: Clione limacina
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/med/9780190636111.003.0052

The pelagic marine mollusk Clione limacina (class Gastropoda, subclass Opisthobranchaea, order Pteropoda), 3–5 cm in length, swims by rhythmically moving (1–2-Hz) two winglike appendages. Each swim cycle consists of two phases—the dorsal (D) and ventral (V) wing flexions. The nervous system of Clione consists of five pairs of ganglia. The wing movements are controlled by the pedal ganglia giving rise to the wing nerves. The neuronal circuit of the swim central pattern generator (CPG) is located in the pedal ganglia, which is able to generate the basic pattern of rhythmic activity after isolation from the organism (fictive swimming). Approximately 120 pedal neurons exhibit rhythmic activity during fictive swimming. According to their morphology, rhythmic neurons are divided into motoneurons (MNs), with axons exiting via the wing nerves to wing muscles, and interneurons (INs), with axons projecting to the contralateral ganglion.