Neuronal Processing of Sensory Input.
Abstract
The investigator performed research on sensory systems whose function is to gather and analyze information about the world external to the animal under behavioral conditions which would automatically result in self-stimulation of these externally-directed systems. Work on the visual system of crickets and locusts, using a particular interneuron which responds vigorously to movement of objects in the visual environment but which is silent during movement of the eyes, was completed and published during the period of this grant. A mechanosensory study in dragonfly larvae, using cells responding to movement of prey in the nearby water but not to the movement of the animal's own legs through the water is still in progress with two manuscripts in preparation. Both studies have acquired additional, new dimensions because the interneurons studied also are test systems for assessing the ability of the animal to reassemble, during regeneration, neuronal circuits which were sugically disrupted. The principal investigator demonstrated a visual feedback mechanism free of any central component which prevents descending interneurons from firing during eye movement in a normal environment. The response of mechanosensory interneurons is vastly complex with excitation thoroughly interlaced with inhibition. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1970
- Accession Number
- AD0714700
Entities
People
- John M. Palka
Organizations
- Rice University