Miller M W
Department of Anatomy, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, USA.
P R Health Sci J. 1997 Mar;16(1):23-36.
The ragged sea hare (Bursatella leachii), an aplysiid mollusc indigenous to the tropical waters of Puerto Rico, possesses numerous properties that make it suitable for a neuroethological approach to the study of complex behavior patterns. Field studies spanning three years have established a location and season of Bursatella availability on the north coast of the island. In the natural habitat, the Bursatella exhibit a daily rhythm of behavior patterns in which feeding-related activities predominate during the day and reproductive behaviors predominate at night. Some aspects of this natural pattern persist in animals held in the laboratory. The Bursatella nervous system contains large neurons, some of which appear to be homologous to cells that have been characterized extensively in related species. Following isolation of the nervous system, neural centers associated with feeding movements and locomotion retain extraordinarily robust rhythm generating capabilities. It is proposed that this species offers unique opportunities for deriving general principles governing the regulation and integration of central pattern generator circuits underlying complex natural behavior patterns.
糙海兔（Bursatella leachii）是一种原产于波多黎各热带水域的海兔科软体动物，具有许多特性，使其适合采用神经行为学方法来研究复杂的行为模式。为期三年的实地研究确定了该岛北海岸糙海兔的出没地点和季节。在自然栖息地中，糙海兔表现出日常行为模式节律，其中与进食相关的活动在白天占主导，而生殖行为在夜间占主导。这种自然模式的某些方面在实验室饲养的动物中仍然存在。糙海兔的神经系统包含大型神经元，其中一些似乎与在相关物种中已被广泛表征的细胞同源。分离出神经系统后，与进食运动和运动相关的神经中枢仍保持着异常强大的节律生成能力。有人提出，该物种为推导支配复杂自然行为模式背后的中枢模式发生器电路的调节和整合的一般原则提供了独特的机会。
