DiDomenico R, Nissanov J, Eaton R C
Department of Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder 80309.
Brain Res. 1988 Nov 8;473(1):15-28. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(88)90310-1.
This study utilizes digitized cinematic data and lesions of individual Mauthner (M-) cells, large medial reticulospinal command neurons, to examine their role in goldfish C-starts elicited by displacement stimuli. Our results show a major difference in response lateralization in animals with only one M-cell compared to those with both cells intact, or both cells absent. Animals with one M-cell responded by turning to the side opposite the remaining M-cell in 94% of the trials, whereas those with both M-cells intact or both cells absent responded with equal probability to both sides. When the M-cells were absent, the responses were on the average 4 ms longer in latency. This difference may confer a behaviorally significant advantage to the M-cell in blocking other networks that can trigger C-starts. Nevertheless, with the exception of latency, the central program producing the escape behavior adapts automatically to the absence of both M-cells: animals with bilateral M-cell lesions continued to produce the full spectrum of kinematic performance levels seen in intact animals.
本研究利用数字化电影数据以及单个毛特纳（M-）细胞（大型内侧网状脊髓指令神经元）的损伤，来研究它们在位移刺激引发的金鱼C型启动反应中的作用。我们的结果表明，与两个细胞均完整或均缺失的动物相比，仅有一个M细胞的动物在反应偏向性上存在重大差异。在94%的试验中，仅有一个M细胞的动物会转向剩余M细胞对侧的方向做出反应，而两个M细胞均完整或均缺失的动物对两侧做出反应的概率相同。当M细胞缺失时，反应潜伏期平均延长4毫秒。这种差异可能赋予M细胞在阻断其他可触发C型启动反应的神经网络方面具有行为学上的显著优势。然而，除潜伏期外，产生逃避行为的中枢程序会自动适应两个M细胞均缺失的情况：双侧M细胞损伤的动物仍能产生完整动物所具有的全谱运动表现水平。
