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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2000

Pharmacological characterization of ionic currents that regulate the pacemaker rhythm in a weakly electric fish.

Electric organ discharge (EOD) frequency in the brown ghost knifefish (Apteronotus leptorhynchus) is sexually dimorphic, steroid-regulated, and determined by the discharge rates of neurons in the medullary pacemaker nucleus (Pn). We pharmacologically characterized ionic currents that regulate the firing frequency of Pn neurons to determine which currents contribute to spontaneous oscillations of these neurons and to identify putative targets of steroid action in regulating sexually dimorphic EOD frequency. Tetrodotoxin (TTX) initially reduced spike frequency, and then reduced spike amplitude and stopped pacemaker activity. The sodium channel blocker muO-conotoxin MrVIA also reduced spike frequency, but did not affect spike amplitude or production. Two potassium channel blockers, 4-aminopyridine (4AP) and kappaA-conotoxin SIVA, increased pacemaker firing rates by approximately 20% and then stopped pacemaker firing. Other potassium channel blockers (tetraethylammonium, cesium, alpha-dendrotoxin, and agitoxin-2) did not affect the pacemaker rhythm. The nonspecific calcium channel blockers nickel and cadmium reduced pacemaker firing rates by approximately 15-20%. Specific blockers of L-, N-, P-, and Q-type calcium currents, however, were ineffective. These results indicate that at least three ionic currents-a TTX- and muO-conotoxin MrVIA-sensitive sodium current; a 4AP- and kappaA-conotoxin SIVA-sensitive potassium current; and a T- or R-type calcium current-contribute to the pacemaker rhythm. The pharmacological profiles of these currents are similar to those of currents that are known to regulate firing rates in other spontaneously oscillating neural circuits.

4-Aminopyridine↗

PubMed2005

How electric fish became sources of acetylcholine receptor.

The purpose of this communication is to describe the historical steps by which fish electric organs were eventually determined to be modified motor endplates and therefore a plentiful source of acetylcholine receptor. A brief description of the early history of electric fish concerned with the nature of the discharge will provide the background for studies of the anatomy, embryology, and physiology of electric organs in the nineteenth century that suggested that electric organs were derived from modified muscles. In the twentieth century, transmission between nerve and electric organ was shown to be cholinergic, and because of their size and abundant cholinergic nerve supply, the electric organs of Torpedo and Electrophorus were chosen by biochemists and molecular biologists as possible rich sources of acetylcholine receptor.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Active electrolocation of objects in weakly electric fish

Weakly electric fish produce electric signals (electric organ discharges, EODs) with a specialised electric organ creating an electric field around their body. Objects within this field alter the EOD-induced current at epidermal electroreceptor organs, which are distributed over almost the entire body surface. The detection, localisation and analysis of objects performed by monitoring self-produced electric signals is called active electrolocation. Electric fish employ active electrolocation to detect objects that are less than 12 cm away and have electric properties that are different from those of the surrounding water. Within this range, the mormyrid Gnathonemus petersii can also perceive the distance of objects. Depth perception is independent of object parameters such as size, shape and material. The mechanism for distance determination through electrolocation involves calculating the ratio between two parameters of the electric image that the object projects onto the fish's skin. Electric fish can not only locate objects but can also analyse their electrical properties. Fish are informed about object impedance by measuring local amplitude changes at their receptor organs evoked by an object. In addition, all electric fish studied so far can independently determine the capacitative and resistive components of objects that possess complex impedances. This ability allows the fish to discriminate between living and non-living matter, because capacitance is a property of living organisms. African mormyrids and South American gymnotiforms use different mechanisms for capacitance detection. Mormyrids detect capacitance-evoked EOD waveform distortions, whereas gymnotiforms perform time measurements. Gymnotiforms measure the temporal phase shift of their EODs induced at body parts close to the object relative to unaffected body parts further away.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1999

Orientation in the dark: brain circuits involved in the perception of electric signals in mormyrid electric fish.

Weakly electric fish produce electric signals with a specialised organ in their tail. In addition, they are electrosensitive and can perceive their self-generated signals (for electrolocation) and electric signals of other electric fishes (for electrocommunication). Mormyrids possess three types of peripheral electroreceptor organs, one used for electrocommunication and two types involved in electolocation. They are innervated by afferent fibres, which project to different zones in the electrosensory lateral line lobe (ELL) in the medulla. Brain circuits for electrolocation and electrocommunication are separated almost throughout the whole brain. Electrolocation pathways run from the ELL-cortex to the torus semicircularis of the midbrain and then via the valvula cerebelli towards the telencephalon. Pathways involved in electrocommunication run from the nucleus of the ELL to another part of the torus and from there through the isthmic granule nucleus to the valvula. In addition, a pathway via the preglomerular complex to the telencephalon might exist. In both the electrolocation and the electrocommunication circuits, prominent recurrent pathways are present.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Insight into the mechanisms of neuronal processing from electric fish.

Weakly electric fish use their electric fields to locate objects and communicate with each other. Their electric discharges vary with species, gender, and social status. This variation is mediated by steroid and peptide hormones that influence ion currents through changes in gene expression or phosphorylation state. Understanding how electric fish decode the perturbations of their electric fields that result from interactions with the discharges of other fish or prey is illuminating general mechanisms of neuronal processing. Their central sensory circuits are specialized to process amplitude modulated signals, to detect microsecond variations in spike timing, and are dynamically reconfigured depending on the stimulus parameters.

Animal Communication↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Distance and shape: perception of the 3-dimensional world by weakly electric fish.

Weakly electric fish orient at night in complete darkness by employing their active electrolocation system. They emit short electric signals and perceive the consequences of these emissions with epidermal electroreceptors. Objects are detected by analyzing the electric images which they project onto the animal's electroreceptive skin surface. This process corresponds to similar processes during vision, where visual images are cast onto the retinas of eyes. Behavioral experiments have shown that electric fish can measure the distance of objects during active electrolocation, thus possessing three-dimensional depth perception of their surroundings. The fundamental mechanism for distance determination differs from stereopsis used during vision by two-eyed animals, but resembles some supplementary mechanisms for distance deduction in humans. Weakly electric fish can also perceive the three-dimensional shape of objects. The fish can learn to identify certain objects and discriminate them from all other objects. In addition, they spontaneously categorize objects according to their shapes and not according to object size or material properties. There is good evidence that some fundamental types of perceptional invariances during visual object recognition in humans are also found in electric fish during active electrolocation. These include size invariance (maybe including size constancy), rotational invariance, and translational invariance. The mechanisms of shape detection during electrolocation are still unknown, and their discoveries require additional experiments.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Effects of denervation upon receptor cell survival and basal cell proliferation in tuberous electroreceptor organs of a weakly electric fish.

Weakly electric fish generate electric fields for the purposes of electrolocation and communication. These fields are detected by specialized receptor organs: the tuberous organs. In the present study we investigated the effects of denervation upon receptor cell survival and progenitor (basal) cell proliferation rate. The left, infraorbital, anterior lateral line nerve of brown ghosts (Apteronotus leptorhynchus) was sectioned, and the proximal stump was dipped in ricin to prevent regrowth. In groups of four, the animals were given two daily injections of the cell proliferation marker bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) for 2 days at 1, 2, 3, or 4 weeks following denervation. At the completion of the BrdU injection schedule, a piece of cheek skin, rostroventral to the eye, was removed from the left (denervated) and the right (intact) sides and processed for light microscopy or immunocytochemistry. Our results show: (1) there is progressive receptor cell death and tuberous organ degeneration following denervation; (2) basal cell proliferation increases steadily with time after denervation and tuberous organ degeneration; and (3) despite denervation, some proliferating basal cells differentiate into receptor cells, but these new receptor cells eventually die. These results suggest that innervation is essential for tuberous electroreceptor cell survival and that the rate at which basal cells proliferate is regulated by receptor cell health, locally released factors, or both.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Modeling the electric field of weakly electric fish.

Weakly electric fish characterize the environment in which they live by sensing distortions in their self-generated electric field. These distortions result in electric images forming across their skin. In order to better understand electric field generation and image formation in one particular species of electric fish, Apteronotus leptorhynchus, we have developed three different numerical models of a two-dimensional cross-section of the fish's body and its surroundings. One of these models mimics the real contour of the fish; two other geometrically simple models allow for an independent study of the effects of the fish's body geometry and conductivity on electric field and image formation. Using these models, we show that the fish's tapered body shape is mainly responsible for the smooth, uniform field in the rostral region, where most electroreceptors are located. The fish's narrowing body geometry is also responsible for the relatively large electric potential in the caudal region. Numerical tests also confirm the previous hypothesis that the electric fish body acts approximately like an ideal voltage divider; this is true especially for the tail region. Next, we calculate electric images produced by simple objects and find they vary according to the current density profile assigned to the fish's electric organ. This explains some of the qualitative differences previously reported for different modeling approaches. The variation of the electric image's shape as a function of different object locations is explained in terms of the fish's geometrical and electrical parameters. Lastly, we discuss novel cues for determining an object's rostro-caudal location and lateral distance using these electric images.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

A quantitative analysis of passive electrolocation behavior in electric fish.

Weakly electric fish of the families Gymnotidae and Hypopomidae (Gymnotiformes) are able to locate the electric discharges from conspecifics or from dipole electrodes, and they demonstrate this by making rapid, well-directed approaches toward these electrical sources. A video tracking system was used to follow the movements of electric fish in a large tank and an analytic method was used for computing the direction and magnitude of the electric field anywhere within the cylindrical test tank. Using a static analysis method, we describe the posture of test fish relative to the electric fields during their approaches to stationary or moving electrical stimuli. Using a dynamic analysis, we examine the movements of the fish including the sign and magnitude of velocity and bending in response to electric fields. Electric fish seek to maintain a zero error angle between their body orientation and the local electric field. They do so by bending their body in the direction of the local electric field. The response has a delay of approximately 0.5 s. Swimming in reverse inverts the direction of the bend. These fish also use 'V-turns' to redirect their swim directions when encountering rapidly-changing electric fields.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

Sensory coding and corollary discharge effects in mormyrid electric fish.

Weakly electric fish use their electrosensory systems for electrocommunication, active electrolocation and low-frequency passive electrolocation. In electric fish of the family Mormyridae, these three purposes are mediated by separate classes of electroreceptors: electrocommunication by Knollenorgan electroreceptors, active electrolocation by Mormyromast electroreceptors and low-frequency passive electrolocation by ampullary electroreceptors. The primary afferent fibres from each class of electroreceptors terminate in a separate central region. Thus, the mormyrid electrosensory system has three anatomically and functionally distinct subsystems. This review describes the sensory coding and initial processing in each of the three subsystems, with an emphasis on the Knollenorgan and Mormyromast subsystems. The Knollenorgan subsystem is specialized for the measurement of temporal information but appears to ignore both intensity and spatial information. In contrast, the Mormyromast subsystem is specialized for the measurement of both intensity and spatial information. The morphological and physiological characteristics of the primary afferents and their central projection regions are quite different for the two subsystems and reflect the type of information which the subsystems preserve. This review also describes the electric organ corollary discharge (EOCD) effects which are present in the central projection regions of each of the three electrosensory subsystems. These EOCD effects are driven by the motor command that drives the electric organ to discharge. The EOCD effects are different in each of the three subsystems and these differences reflect differences in both the pattern and significance of the sensory information that is evoked by the fish's own electric organ discharge. Some of the EOCD effects are invariant, whereas others are plastic and depend on previous afferent input. The mormyrid work is placed within two general contexts: (a) the measurement of time and intensity in sensory systems, and (b) the various roles of motor command (efferent) signals and self-induced sensory (reafferent) signals in sensorimotor systems.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed2005

Sex and species differences in neuromodulatory input to a premotor nucleus: a comparative study of substance P and communication behavior in weakly electric fish.

Many electric fish species modulate their electric organ discharges (EODs) to produce transient social signals that vary in number and structure. In Apteronotus leptorhynchus, males modulate their EOD more often than females, whereas in Apteronotus albifrons, males and females produce similar numbers of modulations. Sex differences in the number of EOD modulations in A. leptorhynchus are associated with sex differences in substance P in the diencephalic nucleus that controls transient EOD modulations, the CP/PPn. These sex differences in substance P have been hypothesized to regulate sex differences in the production of EOD modulations. To comparatively test this hypothesis, we examined substance P immunoreactivity in the CP/PPn of male and female A. leptorhynchus and A. albifrons. Because the number of EOD modulations is sexually monomorphic in A. albifrons, we predicted no sex difference in substance P in the CP/PPn of this species. Contrary to this prediction, male A. albifrons had significantly more substance P in the CP/PPn than females. This suggests that sex differences in substance P are not sufficient for controlling sex differences in the number of EOD modulations. Modulation structure (frequency excursion and/or duration), however, is also sexually dimorphic in A. leptorhynchus and is another possible behavioral correlate of the sexually dimorphic distribution of substance P. The present study found pronounced sex differences in the structure of EOD modulations in A. albifrons similar to those in A. leptorhynchus. Thus, sex differences in substance P may influence sex differences in the structure, rather than the number, of EOD modulations.

Animal Communication↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Investigation of the significance of correlation of fish electrical activity and electrotelluric field].

The data of digital measurements of electrical activity of weakly electric fish and electrotelluric field were studied. The duration of the time series was 4 years. The identity of the spectral composition of the series analyzed and a rather strong correlation between them were found. The evaluation of significance of the correlation was made by a number of pairs of data values and by comparison of the correlation coefficients between the initial series with corresponding correlation coefficients between the same series after the following operations with them: 1) ranging; 2) filtration of trends; 3) filtration of the seasonal component; 4) division into sections. All tests and the identity of the compared series spectra convincingly confirmed the validity of the working hypothesis on probable existence of physically stipulated causal relations between the processes considered. However, numerical model experiments considering the flicker-noise character of the series demonstrated no less convincingly that the rather high correlation coefficient may be explained by the alternative hypothesis on the independence of the processes analyzed. Since the very wide range of different natural processes has a flicker-noise structure, the methodological significance of the results obtained is far beyond the limits of the specific problem of the present paper.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Neural substrates for species recognition in the time-coding electrosensory pathway of mormyrid electric fish.

Mormyrid electric fish have species- and sex-typical electric organ discharges (EODs). One class of tuberous electroreceptors, the knollenorgans, plays a critical role in electric communication; one function is species recognition of EOD waveforms. In this paper, we describe cell types in the knollenorgan central pathway, which appear responsible for analysis of the temporal patterns of spikes encoded by the knollenorgans in response to EOD stimuli. Secondary sensory neurons in the nucleus of the electrosensory lateral line lobe (NELL) act as relays of peripheral responses. They fire a single phase-locked spike to an outside positive-going voltage step. Axons from the NELL project to the toral nucleus exterolateralis pars anterior (ELa). Immediately after they enter the ELa, they send collaterals to terminate on one to three ELa large cells and then continue in a lengthy neuronal pathway that traverses the ELa several times. After a path length of up to 5 mm, the NELL axon terminates on as many as 70 ELa small cells. Thus the large cells appear to be excited first, followed by the small cells, with the intervening length of the axon serving as a delay line. The large cells also respond with phase-locked spikes to voltage steps. Large cell axons extend for approximately 1 mm and terminate on several small cells within the ELa. The terminals are known to be GABAergic inputs and are presumed inhibitory. We propose that small cells receive direct inhibition from large cells and delayed excitation from NELL axons. The small cells may act as anti-co-incidence detectors to analyze the temporal structure of the EOD waveform.

Afferent Pathways↗

PubMed2001

Neuronal population codes and the perception of object distance in weakly electric fish.

Weakly electric fish use an electric sense to navigate and capture prey in the dark. Objects in the surroundings of the fish produce distortions in their self-generated electric field; these distortions form a two-dimensional Gaussian-like electric image on the skin surface. To determine the distance of an object, the peak amplitude and width of its electric image must be estimated. These sensory features are encoded by a neuronal population in the early stages of the electrosensory pathway, but are not represented with classic bell-shaped neuronal tuning curves. In contrast, bell-shaped tuning curves do characterize the neuronal responses to the location of the electric image on the body surface, such that parallel two-dimensional maps of this feature are formed. In the case of such two-dimensional maps, theoretical results suggest that the width of neural tuning should have no effect on the accuracy of a population code. Here we show that although the spatial scale of the electrosensory maps does not affect the accuracy of encoding the body surface location of the electric image, maps with narrower tuning are better for estimating image width and those with wider tuning are better for estimating image amplitude. We quantitatively evaluate a two-step algorithm for distance perception involving the sequential estimation of peak amplitude and width of the electric image. This algorithm is best implemented by two neural maps with different tuning widths. These results suggest that multiple maps of sensory features may be specialized with different tuning widths, for encoding additional sensory features that are not explicitly mapped.

Algorithms↗

PubMed1990

Different classes of glutamate receptors and GABA mediate distinct modulations of a neuronal oscillator, the medullary pacemaker of a gymnotiform electric fish.

Gymnotiform electric fish generate distinct communicatory signals by modulating the rate of their electric organ discharges (EODs). Each EOD is triggered by a command pulse from the medullary pacemaker nucleus (PN), which contains pacemaker cells and relay cells. The firing rate of this nucleus is modulated by inputs from the diencephalic prepacemaker nucleus (PPN). The NMDA receptor blocker APV and the kainate/quisqualate receptor blocker CNQX, administered to the PN, suppress different types of modulations, indicating that different classes of glutamate receptors mediate the generation of different modulations. A comparison of the 2 genera, Hypopomus and Eigenmannia, reveals that sustained modulations, such as smooth rises in the rate of pacemaker cell firing and the selective silencing of the relay cells (only observed in Hypopomus), are mediated by NMDA receptors, whereas the brief and rapid acceleration, called "chirp" or "decrement burst," is mediated by kainate/quisqualate receptors. Application of the GABA blocker bicuculline reveals that the 2 genera differ in the mechanism by which they slow the firing rate of their pacemaker. Whereas Hypopomus uses GABAergic inhibition to slow down and ultimately silence its pacemaker cells, Eigenmannia reduces tonic, APV-sensitive excitation originating from its PPN and lacks GABAergic inhibition in the PN.

2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate↗

PubMed2006

Non-visual environmental imaging and object detection through active electrolocation in weakly electric fish.

Weakly electric fish orient at night by employing active electrolocation. South American and African species emit electric signals and perceive the consequences of these emissions with epidermal electroreceptors. Objects are detected by analyzing the electric images which they project onto the animal's electroreceptive skin surface. Electric images depend on size, distance, shape, and material of objects and on the morphology of the electric organ and the fish's body. It is proposed that the mormyrid Gnathonemus petersii possesses two electroreceptive "foveae" at its Schnauzenorgan and its nasal region, both of which resemble the visual fovea in the retina of many animals in design, function, and behavioral use. Behavioral experiments have shown that G. petersii can determine the resistive and capacitive components of an object's complex impedance in order to identify prey items during foraging. In addition, fish can measure the distance and three-dimensional shape of objects. In order to determine object properties during active electrolocation, the fish have to determine at least four parameters of the local signal within an object's electric image: peak amplitude, maximal slope, image width, and waveform distortions. A crucial parameter is the object distance, which is essential for unambiguous evaluation of object properties.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Environmental, seasonal, and social modulations of basal activity in a weakly electric fish.

The electric organ discharge (EOD) of weakly electric fish encodes information about species, sex, behavioral, and physiological states throughout the lifetime. Its central command is crucial for sensory-motor coordination, and is therefore the target of plastic mechanisms that adapt fish to environmental and social challenges. The EOD waveform of Brachyhypopomus pinnicaudatus is modulated by environmental factors and the neuroendocrine system. In this study we investigate the effects of water temperature and day-night cycle upon EOD rate in this species during the breeding and non-breeding seasons. During the non-breeding season, EOD rate is a linear function of water temperature and exhibits counterclockwise hysteresis. During breeding, a thermal resistance strategy prevents the decrease of EOD rate to cooling. A nocturnal increase of EOD basal rate independent of water temperature and locomotor activity was demonstrated in isolated non-breeding adults and in male-female dyads all year round. An additional increase of nocturnal EOD rate, probably acting as a social courtship signal, was found in breeding dyads. This additional increase of nocturnal EOD rate could not be fully explained by gonadal maturation and was modulated by social stimuli. This study provides novel data on the complex interactions between environment, reproductive cycle, social behavior, and electromotor output in an advantageous model of the vertebrate central nervous system.

Activity Cycles↗

PubMed1999

Ionic currents that contribute to a sexually dimorphic communication signal in weakly electric fish.

Weakly electric fish produce a communication signal, the electric organ discharge, that is species specific, and in many species, sexually dimorphic. Because the neural circuit that controls the electric organ discharge is relatively simple, it is an excellent model in which to study both the biophysical mechanisms underlying a rhythmic behavior and the neuroendocrine control of a sexually dimorphic behavior. By studying the effects of ion channel blockers on neurons in the medullary pacemaker nucleus, I pharmacologically characterized three ionic currents that influence the pacemaker rhythm, and thus electric organ discharge frequency, in the gymnotiform fish, Apteronotus leptorhynchus. These currents included a tetrodotoxin-sensitive sodium current; a potassium current that was sensitive to 4-aminopyridine; and a calcium current that was sensitive to nickel and cadmium, but resistant to specific blockers of L-, N-, P-, and Q-type calcium currents. The pharmacological profiles of the ionic currents in the pacemaker nucleus are similar to those of ionic currents involved in pacemaking in other neuronal oscillators. Because these ionic currents dramatically influence pacemaker firing frequency, which is directly related to electric organ discharge frequency, these ionic currents are likely targets of steroid hormone action in producing sexual dimorphisms in electric organ discharge frequency. Additional studies are needed to determine how these ionic currents interact to generate the electric organ discharge rhythm and to investigate the possibility that sexual dimorphism in the electric organ discharge results from the actions of gonadal steroids on these ionic currents.

Animal Communication↗