TY - JOUR
T1 - Producing directed behaviour
T2 - Muscle activity patterns of the cockroach escape response
AU - Levi, Rafael
AU - Camhi, Jeffrey M.
PY - 1996/3
Y1 - 1996/3
N2 - The cockroach responds to wind from the front left by making an escape turn to the right, and vice versa. So far, no interneurones in the escape system are known that respond only to wind from the left or only to wind from the right. In this study, we used electromyographic recordings to determine whether motor neurones respond in this direction-selective manner during escape behaviour. In the mesothoracic coxal-femoral joint, whose movement direction is diagnostic for escape direction, the fast motor neurones of one muscle respond selectively to one wind direction, and those of the antagonistic muscle respond selectively to wind from the other direction, resulting in an appropriate turning response. This rules out an alternative hypothesis, a co-activation mechanism of specifying turn direction. These results suggest that it would be fruitful to search among the interneurones of the escape system for additional cells and circuit properties that could give rise to this sharp directional discrimination.
AB - The cockroach responds to wind from the front left by making an escape turn to the right, and vice versa. So far, no interneurones in the escape system are known that respond only to wind from the left or only to wind from the right. In this study, we used electromyographic recordings to determine whether motor neurones respond in this direction-selective manner during escape behaviour. In the mesothoracic coxal-femoral joint, whose movement direction is diagnostic for escape direction, the fast motor neurones of one muscle respond selectively to one wind direction, and those of the antagonistic muscle respond selectively to wind from the other direction, resulting in an appropriate turning response. This rules out an alternative hypothesis, a co-activation mechanism of specifying turn direction. These results suggest that it would be fruitful to search among the interneurones of the escape system for additional cells and circuit properties that could give rise to this sharp directional discrimination.
KW - Cockroach
KW - Directional behaviour
KW - Escape behaviour
KW - Giant interneurones
KW - Periplaneta americana
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0030062066&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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AN - SCOPUS:0030062066
SN - 0022-0949
VL - 199
SP - 563
EP - 568
JO - Journal of Experimental Biology
JF - Journal of Experimental Biology
IS - 3
ER -