Using reflexive behaviors of the medicinal leech to study information processing

The processing of proprioceptive signals in distributed networks: insights from insect motor control

The integration of sensory information is required to maintain body posture and to generate robust yet flexible locomotion through unpredictable environments. To anticipate required adaptations in limb posture and enable compensation of sudden perturbations, an animal's nervous system assembles external (exteroception) and internal (proprioception) cues. Coherent neuronal representations of the proprioceptive context of the body and the appendages arise from the concerted action of multiple sense organs monitoring body kinetics and kinematics. This multimodal proprioceptive information, together with exteroceptive signals and brain-derived descending motor commands, converges onto premotor networks - i.e. the local neuronal circuitry controlling motor output and movements - within the ventral nerve cord (VNC), the insect equivalent of the vertebrate spinal cord. This Review summarizes existing knowledge and recent advances in understanding how local premotor networks in the VNC use convergent information to generate contextually appropriate activity, focusing on the example of posture control. We compare the role and advantages of distributed sensory processing over dedicated neuronal pathways, and the challenges of multimodal integration in distributed networks. We discuss how the gain of distributed networks may be tuned to enable the behavioral repertoire of these systems, and argue that insect premotor networks might compensate for their limited neuronal population size by, in comparison to vertebrate networks, relying more heavily on the specificity of their connections. At a time in which connectomics and physiological recording techniques enable anatomical and functional circuit dissection at an unprecedented resolution, insect motor systems offer unique opportunities to identify the mechanisms underlying multimodal integration for flexible motor control.

Construction of a medicinal leech transcriptome database and its application to the identification of leech homologs of neural and innate immune genes

Background

The medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, is an important model system for the study of nervous system structure, function, development, regeneration and repair. It is also a unique species in being presently approved for use in medical procedures, such as clearing of pooled blood following certain surgical procedures. It is a current, and potentially also future, source of medically useful molecular factors, such as anticoagulants and antibacterial peptides, which may have evolved as a result of its parasitizing large mammals, including humans. Despite the broad focus of research on this system, little has been done at the genomic or transcriptomic levels and there is a paucity of openly available sequence data. To begin to address this problem, we constructed whole embryo and adult central nervous system (CNS) EST libraries and created a clustered sequence database of the Hirudo transcriptome that is available to the scientific community.

Results

A total of ~133,000 EST clones from two directionally-cloned cDNA libraries, one constructed from mRNA derived from whole embryos at several developmental stages and the other from adult CNS cords, were sequenced in one or both directions by three different groups: Genoscope (French National Sequencing Center), the University of Iowa Sequencing Facility and the DOE Joint Genome Institute. These were assembled using the phrap software package into 31,232 unique contigs and singletons, with an average length of 827 nt. The assembled transcripts were then translated in all six frames and compared to proteins in NCBI's non-redundant (NR) and to the Gene Ontology (GO) protein sequence databases, resulting in 15,565 matches to 11,236 proteins in NR and 13,935 matches to 8,073 proteins in GO. Searching the database for transcripts of genes homologous to those thought to be involved in the innate immune responses of vertebrates and other invertebrates yielded a set of nearly one hundred evolutionarily conserved sequences, representing all known pathways involved in these important functions.

Conclusions

The sequences obtained for Hirudo transcripts represent the first major database of genes expressed in this important model system. Comparison of translated open reading frames (ORFs) with the other openly available leech datasets, the genome and transcriptome of Helobdella robusta, shows an average identity at the amino acid level of 58% in matched sequences. Interestingly, comparison with other available Lophotrochozoans shows similar high levels of amino acid identity, where sequences match, for example, 64% with Capitella capitata (a polychaete) and 56% with Aplysia californica (a mollusk), as well as 58% with Schistosoma mansoni (a platyhelminth). Phylogenetic comparisons of putative Hirudo innate immune response genes present within the Hirudo transcriptome database herein described show a strong resemblance to the corresponding mammalian genes, indicating that this important physiological response may have older origins than what has been previously proposed.

Widespread inhibition proportional to excitation controls the gain of a leech behavioral circuit

Changing gain in a neuronal system has important functional consequences, but the underlying mechanisms have been elusive. Models have suggested a variety of neuronal and systems properties to accomplish gain control. Here, we show that the gain of the neuronal network underlying local bending behavior in leeches depends on widespread inhibition. Using behavioral analysis, intracellular recordings, and voltage-sensitive dye imaging, we compared the effects of blocking just the known lateral inhibition with blocking all GABAergic inhibition. This revealed an additional source of inhibition, which was widespread and increased in proportion to increasing stimulus intensity. In a model of the input/output functions of the three-layered local bending network, we showed that inhibiting all interneurons in proportion to the stimulus strength produces the experimentally observed change in gain. This relatively simple mechanism for controlling behavioral gain could be prevalent in vertebrate as well as invertebrate nervous systems.

A central pattern generator producing alternative outputs: pattern, strength, and dynamics of premotor synaptic input to leech heart motor neurons

The central pattern generator (CPG) for heartbeat in medicinal leeches consists of seven identified pairs of segmental heart interneurons and one unidentified pair. Four of the identified pairs and the unidentified pair of interneurons make inhibitory synaptic connections with segmental heart motor neurons. The CPG produces a side-to-side asymmetric pattern of intersegmental coordination among ipsilateral premotor interneurons corresponding to a similarly asymmetric fictive motor pattern in heart motor neurons, and asymmetric constriction pattern of the two tubular hearts, synchronous and peristaltic. Using extracellular recordings from premotor interneurons and voltage-clamp recordings of ipsilateral segmental motor neurons in 69 isolated nerve cords, we assessed the strength and dynamics of premotor inhibitory synaptic output onto the entire ensemble of heart motor neurons and the associated conduction delays in both coordination modes. We conclude that premotor interneurons establish a stereotypical pattern of intersegmental synaptic connectivity, strengths, and dynamics that is invariant across coordination modes, despite wide variations among preparations. These data coupled with a previous description of the temporal pattern of premotor interneuron activity and relative phasing of motor neuron activity in the two coordination modes enable a direct assessment of how premotor interneurons through their temporal pattern of activity and their spatial pattern of synaptic connectivity, strengths, and dynamics coordinate segmental motor neurons into a functional pattern of activity.

Neuronal control of leech behavior

The medicinal leech has served as an important experimental preparation for neuroscience research since the late 19th century. Initial anatomical and developmental studies dating back more than 100 years ago were followed by behavioral and electrophysiological investigations in the first half of the 20th century. More recently, intense studies of the neuronal mechanisms underlying leech movements have resulted in detailed descriptions of six behaviors described in this review; namely, heartbeat, local bending, shortening, swimming, crawling, and feeding. Neuroethological studies in leeches are particularly tractable because the CNS is distributed and metameric, with only 400 identifiable, mostly paired neurons in segmental ganglia. An interesting, yet limited, set of discrete movements allows students of leech behavior not only to describe the underlying neuronal circuits, but also interactions among circuits and behaviors. This review provides descriptions of six behaviors including their origins within neuronal circuits, their modification by feedback loops and neuromodulators, and interactions between circuits underlying with these behaviors.

Repair and Regeneration of Functional Synaptic Connections: Cellular and Molecular Interactions in the Leech

A major problem for neuroscience has been to find a means to achieve reliable regeneration of synaptic connections following injury to the adult CNS. This problem has been solved by the leech, where identified neurons reconnect precisely with their usual targets following axotomy, re-establishing in the adult the connections formed during embryonic development. It cannot be assumed that once axons regenerate specific synapses, function will be restored. Recent work on the leech has shown following regeneration of the synapse between S-interneurons, which are required for sensitization of reflexive shortening, a form of non-associative learning, the capacity for sensitization is delayed. The steps in repair of synaptic connections in the leech are reviewed, with the aim of understanding general mechanisms that promote successful repair. New results are presented regarding the signals that regulate microglial migration to lesions, a first step in the repair process. In particular, microglia up to 900 microm from the lesion respond within minutes by moving rapidly toward the injury, controlled in part by nitric oxide (NO), which is generated immediately at the lesion and acts via a soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC). The cGMP produced remains elevated for hours after injury. The relationship of microglial migration to axon outgrowth is discussed.

Dynamics and Reproducibility of a Moderately Complex Sensory-Motor Response in the Medicinal Leech

Local bending, a motor response caused by mechanical stimulation of the leech skin, has been shown to be remarkably reproducible, in its initial phase, despite the highly variable firing of motoneurons sustaining it. In this work, the reproducibility of local bending was further analyzed by monitoring it over a longer period of time and by using more intact preparations, in which muscle activation in an entire body segment was studied. Our experiments showed that local bending is a moderately complex motor response, composed of a sequence of four different phases, which were consistently identified in all leeches. During each phase, longitudinal and circular muscles in specific areas of the body segment acted synergistically, being co-activated or co-inhibited depending on their position relative to the stimulation site. Onset and duration of the first phase were reproducible across different trials and different animals as a result of the massive co-activation of excitatory motoneurons sustaining it. The other phases were produced by the inhibition of excitatory and activation of inhibitory motoneurons, and also by the intrinsic relaxation dynamics of leech muscles. As a consequence, their duration and relative timing was variable across different preparations, whereas their order of appearance was conserved. These results suggest that, during local bending, the leech neuromuscular system 1) operates a reduction of its available degrees of freedom, by simultaneously recruiting groups of otherwise antagonistic muscles and large populations of motoneurons; and 2) ensures reliability and effectiveness of this escape reflex, by guaranteeing the reproducibility of its crucial initial phase.

Single-cell analysis reveals cell-specific patterns of expression of a family of putative voltage-gated sodium channel genes in the leech

To understand the molecular basis of nervous system function in the leech, Hirudo medicinalis, we have isolated four novel cDNAs encoding putative voltage-gated sodium (Na) channel alpha subunits, and have analyzed the expression of these genes in individual neurons of known function. To begin, degenerate oligonucleotide primers were used in combination with pre-existing cDNA libraries and reverse transcriptase-coupled polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR). The putative leech Na channel cDNAs (LeNas) exhibit a higher degree of sequence homology to Na channel genes in other species than to voltage-gated calcium or potassium channel genes, including those expressed in leech. All LeNa cDNAs contain sequences corresponding to regions of functional importance in Na channel alpha subunits, including the "S4 region" involved in activation, the "pore loops" responsible for ion selectivity, and the "inactivation loop" between the third and fourth domains, though the latter lacks the highly conserved "IFM" motif critical for mammalian Na channel inactivation. Sequences corresponding to important determinants of tetrodotoxin sensitivity are found in some, but not all, LeNa cDNAs, consistent with prior electrophysiological evidence of Na channel heterogeneity in the leech with respect to this toxin. Subsequently, two different sets of isoform-specific primers and methods of RT-PCR, including a sensitive, fluorescence-based "real time" RT-PCR, were used to analyze LeNa isoform expression in functionally distinct neurons. The results from both approaches were consistent, and not only demonstrated that individual neurons often express more than one LeNa isoform, but also revealed cell-specific patterns of Na channel isoform expression in the leech nervous system.

Highly variable spike trains underlie reproducible sensorimotor responses in the medicinal leech

The nervous system of the leech is a particularly suitable model to investigate neural coding of sensorimotor responses because it allows both observation of behavior and the simultaneous measurement of a large fraction of its underlying neuronal activity. In this study, we used a combination of multielectrode recordings, videomicroscopy, and computation of the optical flow to investigate the reproducibility of the motor response caused by local mechanical stimulation of the leech skin. We analyzed variability at different levels of processing: mechanosensory neurons, motoneurons, muscle activation, and behavior. Spike trains in mechanosensory neurons were very reproducible, unlike those in motoneurons. The motor response, however, was reproducible because of two distinct biophysical mechanisms. First, leech muscles contract slowly and therefore are poorly sensitive to the jitter of motoneuron spikes. Second, the motor response results from the coactivation of a population of motoneurons firing in a statistically independent way, which reduces the variability of the population firing. These data show that reproducible spike trains are not required to sustain reproducible behaviors and illustrate how the nervous system can cope with unreliable components to produce reliable action.

The C. elegans glutamate receptor subunit NMR-1 is required for slow NMDA-activated currents that regulate reversal frequency during locomotion

The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) subtype of glutamate receptor is important for synaptic plasticity and nervous system development and function. We have used genetic and electrophysiological methods to demonstrate that NMR-1, a Caenorhabditis elegans NMDA-type ionotropic glutamate receptor subunit, plays a role in the control of movement and foraging behavior. nmr-1 mutants show a lower probability of switching from forward to backward movement and a reduced ability to navigate a complex environment. Electrical recordings from the interneuron AVA show that NMDA-dependent currents are selectively disrupted in nmr-1 mutants. We also show that a slowly desensitizing variant of a non-NMDA receptor can rescue the nmr-1 mutant phenotype. We propose that NMDA receptors in C. elegans provide long-lived currents that modulate the frequency of movement reversals during foraging behavior.

Neuronal control of locomotion in C. elegans is modified by a dominant mutation in the GLR-1 ionotropic glutamate receptor

How simple neuronal circuits control behavior is not well understood at the molecular or genetic level. In Caenorhabditis elegans, foraging behavior consists of long, forward movements interrupted by brief reversals. To determine how this pattern is generated and regulated, we have developed novel perturbation techniques that allow us to depolarize selected neurons in vivo using the dominant glutamate receptor mutation identified in the Lurcher mouse. Transgenic worms that expressed a mutated C. elegans glutamate receptor in interneurons that control locomotion displayed a remarkable and unexpected change in their behavior-they rapidly alternated between forward and backward coordinated movement. Our findings suggest that the gating of movement reversals is controlled in a partially distributed fashion by a small subset of interneurons and that this gating is modified by sensory input.

Glial responses during evoked behaviors in the leech

Glial cells can respond with membrane potential changes during electrically stimulated neuronal activity (Kuffler, Proc R Soc Lond B 168:1-21, 1967; Orkand, Oxford University Press, 1995). Their role in contributing to, or controlling, neural circuits underlying behaviors, however, is completely unknown. We have used semi-intact preparations of the leech Hirudo medicinalis, where behaviors can be elicited and monitored (Kristan et al., J Neurobiol 27:380-389, 1995), to record membrane responses of identified glial cells during whole-body shortening and during fictive swimming. Giant glial cells are located in the neuropil of segmental ganglia, where neuronal axons and dendrites establish numerous synaptic contacts (Coggeshall and Fawcett, J Neurophysiol 27:229-289, 1964). We report here that these glial cells hyperpolarize when the whole-body-shortening response is evoked but not during fictive swimming. To our knowledge, this is the first report that associates a specific behavior with glial cell responses.

Quantitative analysis of a directed behavior in the medicinal leech: implications for organizing motor output

The local bend is a directed behavior produced by the leech, Hirudo medicinalis, in response to a light touch. Contraction of longitudinal muscles near the touched location results in a bend directed away from the stimulus. We quantify the relationship between the location of touch around the body perimeter and the behavioral output by using video analysis, muscle tension measurements, and electromyography. On average, the direction of the behavioral output differed from the touch location by <8% of the total body perimeter. We discuss our results in the context of two contrasting behavioral strategies: a Continuous strategy, in which the local bend is directed exactly opposite to stimulus location, and a Categorical strategy, in which there are four distinct bend directions, each elicited by stimuli given in a single quadrant of the body perimeter. To distinguish between these strategies, we delivered two competing stimuli simultaneously. The resulting behavioral output is best described by an average of the effects of each stimulus given alone and thus provides support for the Continuous strategy. We also use a simple model, based on anatomical and physiological data, to predict the responses of the known motor neurons to different stimulus locations. The model shows that the activation of two of the motor neurons (D and V) is inconsistent with a Categorical strategy. However, these neurons are known to be active during the local bend behavior. This result, along with our experimental observations, suggests that the local bend network uses a Continuous strategy to encode stimulus location and produce directed behavioral output.

Asymmetries in sensory pathways from skin to motoneurons on each side of the body determine the direction of an avoidance response in hatchling Xenopus tadpoles

1. When swimming is initiated by tail stimulation in hatchling Xenopus tadpoles, the first trunk contraction is usually on the opposite side and directs the animal away from the stimulus. We have investigated how asymmetries in the skin sensory pathways mediate this response. 2. In alpha-bungarotoxin-immobilized tadpoles, intracellular recordings were made of responses to ipsilateral (ISS) and contralateral skin stimulation (CSS) in thirty-two presumed motoneurons. ISS evokes an inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) followed by an excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) whereas CSS only evokes an EPSP. Blocking the short latency IPSP evoked by ISS with strychnine reduced the difference in spike latency on the two sides but spikes still occurred first to CSS. 3. Motoneuron EPSPs evoked by ISS and CSS were therefore recorded during microperfusion of strychnine to block the short latency IPSP. We found: (a) the CSS-EPSPs have lower threshold, larger amplitude at a given intensity of stimulus, faster rising phase, and shorter latencies than those of ISS-EPSPs; (b) the ISS-EPSP onset latencies were longer than CSS-EPSPs and became shorter as the stimulus intensity increased while those of CSS-EPSPs remained little changed. At high stimulus intensities, EPSPs caused by CSS and ISS became similar; and (c) onset latencies of ISS-EPSPs had higher variance than those of CSS-EPSPs. However, this difference was reduced as the stimulus intensity was increased. 4. Since motoneuron EPSP onset latencies varied with stimulus intensity, we proposed that the pathway from the opposite side had stronger synapses from afferents to sensory interneurons. To test this proposal we built a neuronal population model of the spinal pathway from skin afferents, via sensory interneurons to ipsilateral and contralateral motoneurons incorporating this asymmetry. Inhibition was omitted from the model. 5. Simulated motoneuron EPSPs in response to skin stimulation on each side of the body showed the major asymmetries found experimentally. If the distribution and axonal projections of the interneurons in the two sensory pathways were made the same these differences remained. However, if the synaptic strength from sensory afferents onto interneurons projecting to the two sides were made equal, the difference between the two sides were lost. 6. We propose that the sensory pathway to contralateral motoneurons has more effective excitation from afferents to sensory interneurons which leads to these motoneurons firing first. At higher stimulus strengths, when population recruitment can blur these subtle differences in excitation between the two sides, inhibition normally plays a significant role to ensure that most first responses are still contralateral.

Modulation of conduction block in leech mechanosensory neurons

Conduction block is a mechanism of activity-dependent neuronal plasticity, but little is known about its possible neuromodulation. Extensive activity in leech touch (T), pressure (P), and nociceptive (N) mechanosensory neurons results in conduction block of their minor receptive fields. We have examined whether the duration of conduction block could be modulated by the serotonergic Retzius neurons or by application of serotonin (5-HT). Activation of one Retzius cell reduced the duration of conduction block in T and P cell posterior fields, but their anterior fields and N cell fields were unaffected. Perfusion with 5-HT had stronger effects, reducing the duration of conduction block in T, P, and lateral N cells in the posterior fields and either reducing or more often enhancing the expression of conduction block in anterior fields. The effects of 5-HT on posterior fields were blocked by the nonspecific 5-HT antagonist methysergide and were partly suppressed by the 5-HT2 antagonist ketanserin. To determine the site of 5-HT action, the central ganglion or peripheral skin was perfused independently. T and to a greater extent P cells showed a preferential sensitivity to application of 5-HT onto the central ganglion. Interestingly, medial N cells exhibited a progressive decrease in the duration of conduction block during repeated trials ("wind-up") that was unaffected by 5-HT. We conclude that secretion of 5-HT by the Retzius cells has a central modulatory effect on the duration of conduction block in T, P, and lateral N cells.

Localization of the myomodulin-like immunoreactivity in the leech CNS

The distribution of myomodulinlike immunoreactivity in the leech CNS was determined using an antiserum raised against Aplysia myomodulin. Segmental ganglia contained approximately 60 immunoreactive neurons. In addition, numerous fibers containing immunoreactive varicosities were found throughout the neuropil. Using a combination of Lucifer Yellow injections and immunocytochemistry, we identified neurons including the anterior Pagodas (AP), annulus erector (AE), motor neurons, Leydig, longitudinal muscle motoneurons (L), S cells, and coupling interneurons, all of which are active during the touch-elicited shortening reflex. FMRF-amide-like immunoreactivity in three of these cells (L, AP, and AE) was previously demonstrated. Specific staining for myomodulin was abolished by preadsorption of the antiserum with synthetic myomodulin, but not with FMRF-amide. These results suggest a potential role for myomodulin in both intrinsic and extrinsic modulation of the leech touch-elicited shortening reflex. Further, it is possible that several neurons mediating this reflex contain multiple neuromodulatory peptides.