Meyer J H, Leong M, Keller C H
J Comp Physiol A. 1987 Mar;160(3):385-94. doi: 10.1007/BF00613028.
Plasticity in the frequency of the electric organ discharge (EOD) and electroreceptor tuning of weakly electric fish was studied in the genus Apteronotus. Both hormone-induced and maturational changes in EOD frequency and electroreceptor tuning were examined. Apteronotus is different from all other steroid-responsive weakly electric fish in that estradiol-17 beta, rather than androgens, induces discharge frequency decreases. This result can account for the 'reversed' discharge frequency dimorphism found in Apteronotus in which, counter to all other known sexually dimorphic electric fish, females have lower discharge frequencies than males. Studies of electroreceptor tuning in Apteronotus indicate that electroreceptors are closely tuned to the frequency of the EOD. This finding was noted not only in adult animals, but also in juvenile animals shortly after the onset of their EODs. Tuning plasticity in Apteronotus, as in other species studied, is associated with altered EOD frequencies and was noted in both maturational EOD changes and in estrogen-induced changes. Thus, tuning plasticity appears to be a general phenomenon which occurs concurrent with a variety of EOD changes.
对无鳍电鳗属鱼类的电鳔放电（EOD）频率可塑性和弱电鱼的电感受器调谐进行了研究。研究了激素诱导和成熟过程中EOD频率和电感受器调谐的变化。无鳍电鳗与所有其他对类固醇有反应的弱电鱼不同，在无鳍电鳗中，是17β-雌二醇而非雄激素诱导放电频率降低。这一结果可以解释在无鳍电鳗中发现的“反向”放电频率二态性，即与所有其他已知的性二态性电鱼相反，雌性的放电频率低于雄性。对无鳍电鳗电感受器调谐的研究表明，电感受器与EOD频率密切调谐。这一发现不仅在成年动物中得到证实，在EOD开始后不久的幼年动物中也得到了证实。与其他研究物种一样，无鳍电鳗的调谐可塑性与EOD频率的改变有关，在成熟过程中EOD的变化以及雌激素诱导的变化中均有发现。因此，调谐可塑性似乎是一种普遍现象，它与各种EOD变化同时发生。
