Fast and slow motoneurons with unique forms and activity patterns in lobster claws.

The form of the fast closer excitor (FCE) and the slow closer excitor (SCE) motoneurons to the closer muscle in the claw of the lobster Homarus americanus was determined by injecting cobalt chloride or Lucifer Yellow into their respective somata. Both neurons are monopolar with the single neurite rising vertically to the dorsal surface of the ganglion, then travelling along this surface to where it gives off its dendrites before entering the second nerve root as an axon. The FCE and SCE motoneurons, however, differ in their dendritic form in several respects. First, the FCE completely lacks an anterior dendritic field, which is well elaborated in the SCE. Second, the FCE has fewer large primary dendrites in its posterior field than the SCE. Third, the posterior dendritic field of the FCE is not as extensive as that of the SCE. Fourth, the axon of the FCE originates from one of the posterior primary dendrites while that of the SCE is an axial extension of its neurite. Thus the SCE has a more elaborate dendritic field than the FCE, which may account for its greater excitability. For instance, recordings from intact lobsters show that the SCE has a lower firing threshold and is active for longer periods of time and at higher frequencies than the FCE.