Calin-Jageman Robert J, Fischer Thomas M
Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
Behav Neurosci. 2007 Feb;121(1):200-11. doi: 10.1037/0735-7044.121.1.200.
Behavioral adaptation is a decrease in behavioral responsiveness due to a sustained stimulus and is a key component to an organism's overall adjustment to its ambient environment. The authors examined the relationship between behavioral adaptation and sensory adaptation in the siphon-withdrawal reflex (SWR) of Aplysia californica. Sensory input to the SWR circuit was measured via en passant extracellular recordings from the siphon nerve in semi-intact preparations. The authors characterized sensory activity in response to water turbulence, an ethologically relevant stimulus that produces behavioral adaptation of the SWR. The authors found that water turbulence elicits a continuous sensory response that adapts to a low-level steady state. Consistent with behavioral measures, this sensory adaptation attenuates the evoked response to siphon taps delivered during water turbulence. Comparing trends in both behavioral and sensory adaptation revealed similar dynamics during turbulence but divergent trends during recovery. Specifically, behavioral recovery was inversely related to the duration of environmental change; recovery of sensory adaptation was not. This supports the authors' hypothesis that environment-driven behavioral adaptation reflects an interaction between sensory adaptation and additional dynamic processes.
行为适应是指由于持续刺激导致行为反应性降低，是生物体对其周围环境进行整体调节的关键组成部分。作者研究了加州海兔虹吸式缩鳃反射（SWR）中行为适应与感觉适应之间的关系。通过在半完整标本中对虹吸神经进行旁路途经细胞外记录来测量SWR回路的感觉输入。作者描述了对水湍流（一种产生SWR行为适应的行为学相关刺激）的感觉活动。作者发现，水湍流引发一种持续的感觉反应，并适应于低水平稳态。与行为测量结果一致，这种感觉适应减弱了在水湍流期间对虹吸轻拍所诱发的反应。比较行为适应和感觉适应的趋势发现，在湍流期间两者动态相似，但在恢复期间趋势不同。具体而言，行为恢复与环境变化的持续时间呈负相关；感觉适应的恢复则不然。这支持了作者的假设，即环境驱动的行为适应反映了感觉适应与其他动态过程之间的相互作用。
