The role of postinhibitory rebound in the locomotor central-pattern generator of Clione limacina

• Main Authors: Thomas J. Pirtle, Richard A. Satterlie
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Clione limacina
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.538.5926; http://icb.oxfordjournals.org/content/47/4/451.full.pdf

Synopsis In animals, networks of central neurons, called central-pattern generators (CPGs), produce a variety of locomotory behaviors including walking, swimming, and flying. CPGs from diverse animals share many common characteristics that function at the system level, circuit level, and cellular level. However, the relative roles of common CPG characteristics are variable among different animal species, in ways that suit different forms of locomotion in different environmental contexts. Here, we examine some of these common features within the locomotor CPG in a model system used to investigate changes in locomotory speed—the swim system of the pteropod mollusk, Clione limacina. In particular, we discuss the role of one cellular characteristic that is essential for locomotor pattern generation in Clione, postinhibitory rebound. A quick scan of the animal kingdom reveals a variety of examples in which body appendages are moved rhythmically to produce forward locomotion. This includes animals that move in air, in water, and on land. In some of these cases, movements of the appendages involve an active stroke, whereby some