Zottoli S J
J Comp Neurol. 1978 Apr 15;178(4):741-57. doi: 10.1002/cne.901780409.
The Mauthner cells (M-cells) are a pair of neurons found in the medulla oblongata of most fish and amphibians. This neuron is not the same size in all teleosts. Based on the hypothesis that differences in M-cell size might be related to fish family and possibly fish habitat, M-cell and nuclear size were compared between fish families. In order to minimize effects of fish length on cell or nuclear size, statistical treatment of the data was made for four separate length classes. The results indicate at least three groupings by cell or nuclear size. The cell is large in fish from the Salmonidae, Catostomidae and Cyprinidae, small in the Stichaeidae, Cottidae and Pleuronectidae and absent in Batrachoididae, Lophiidae, Ogcocephalidae and Cylopteridae. In general a correlation exists between fish that lack or have small M-cells and a demersal habitat. Since these fish may rely on camouflage for protection against predation, the M-cells may have altered excitability or function as compared to more active fish in which the M-cell is known to function in initiating the startle response (larval zebrafish and goldfish). Differences in input to M-cells of different sizes in conjunction with known electrophysiological properties of the goldfish M-cell are discussed in relation to the function of this neuron.
莫特纳尔细胞（M细胞）是大多数鱼类和两栖动物延髓中发现的一对神经元。在所有硬骨鱼中，这种神经元的大小并不相同。基于M细胞大小差异可能与鱼的家族以及可能的鱼类栖息地有关的假设，对不同鱼类家族的M细胞和细胞核大小进行了比较。为了尽量减少鱼的长度对细胞或细胞核大小的影响，对四个不同的长度类别进行了数据统计处理。结果表明，根据细胞或细胞核大小至少可分为三组。鲑科、胭脂鱼科和鲤科鱼类的细胞较大，线鳚科、杜父鱼科和鲽科鱼类的细胞较小，而蟾鱼科、躄鱼科、蝙蝠鱼科和圆鳍鱼科鱼类则没有M细胞。一般来说，缺乏M细胞或M细胞较小的鱼类与底栖栖息地之间存在相关性。由于这些鱼类可能依靠伪装来抵御捕食，与已知M细胞在引发惊吓反应中起作用的更活跃鱼类（幼体斑马鱼和金鱼）相比，M细胞的兴奋性或功能可能已经改变。结合金鱼M细胞已知的电生理特性，讨论了不同大小的M细胞输入差异与该神经元功能的关系。
