Orlovsky G N, Roberts A, Soffe S R
Institute of Problems of Information Transmission, Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.
Trends Neurosci. 1993 Jun;16(6):227-33. doi: 10.1016/0166-2236(93)90161-e.
It is rare to be able to explain the behaviour of a whole animal at the level of the properties and connections of characterized CNS neurones. In a marine mollusc, Clione, and a lower vertebrate embryo, Xenopus, it is possible to make intracellular recordings during fictive swimming behaviour. This has allowed us to analyse the operation of two central pattern generators (CPGs) at the cellular level. Although the timeframes over which the two CPGs operate are different, there are significant similarities in their patterns of neural output. A detailed analysis of the neural networks involved reveals that the swimming CPGs of Clione and Xenopus have several common operating principles, which suggests that common mechanisms have evolved to perform similar tasks, despite differences in neuronal 'hardware'.
能够在已明确特征的中枢神经系统神经元的特性和连接层面解释整个动物的行为，这种情况十分罕见。在海洋软体动物海天使（Clione）和低等脊椎动物胚胎非洲爪蟾（Xenopus）中，可以在模拟游泳行为期间进行细胞内记录。这使我们能够在细胞层面分析两个中枢模式发生器（CPG）的运作情况。尽管两个CPG的运作时间框架不同，但它们的神经输出模式存在显著相似性。对相关神经网络的详细分析表明，海天使和非洲爪蟾的游泳CPG有几个共同的运作原理，这表明尽管神经元“硬件”存在差异，但共同的机制已经进化出来以执行类似的任务。
