Classical conditioning of feeding in Aplysia: I. Behavioral analysis

Repeated stimulation of feeding mechanoafferents in Aplysia generates responses consistent with the release of food

How does repeated stimulation of mechanoafferents affect feeding motor neurons? Monosynaptic connections from a mechanoafferent population in the Aplysia buccal ganglia to five motor followers with different functions were examined during repeated stimulus trains. The mechanoafferents produced both fast and slow synaptic outputs, which could be excitatory or inhibitory. In contrast, other Aplysia mechanoafferents produce only fast excitation on their followers. In addition, patterns of synaptic connections were different to the different motor followers. Some followers received both fast excitation and fast inhibition, whereas others received exclusively fast excitation. All followers showed strong decreases in fast postsynaptic potential (PSP) amplitude within a stimulus train. Fast and slow synaptic connections were of net opposite signs in some followers but not in others. For one follower, synaptic contacts were not uniform from all subareas of the mechanoafferent cluster. Differences in properties of the buccal ganglia mechanoafferents and other Aplysia mechanoafferents may arise because the buccal ganglia neurons innervate the interior of the feeding apparatus, rather than an external surface, and connect to motor neurons for muscles with different motor functions. Fast connection patterns suggest that these synapses may be activated when food slips, biasing the musculature to release food. The largest slow inhibitory synaptic PSPs may contribute to a delay in the onset of the next behavior. Additional functions are also possible.

Sleep and conditioning of the siphon withdrawal reflex in Aplysia

Sleep is essential for memory consolidation after learning as shown in mammals and invertebrates such as bees and flies. Aplysia californica displays sleep, and sleep in this mollusk was also found to support memory for an operant conditioning task. Here, we investigated whether sleep in Aplysia is also required for memory consolidation in a simpler type of learning, i.e. the conditioning of the siphon withdrawal reflex. Two groups of animals (Wake, Sleep, each n=11) were conditioned on the siphon withdrawal reflex, with the training following a classical conditioning procedure where an electrical tail shock served as the unconditioned stimulus (US) and a tactile stimulus to the siphon as the conditioned stimulus (CS). Responses to the CS were tested before (pre-test), and 24 and 48 h after training. While Wake animals remained awake for 6 h after training, Sleep animals had undisturbed sleep. The 24 h test in both groups was combined with extinction training, i.e. the extended presentation of the CS alone over two blocks. At the 24 h test, siphon withdrawal duration in response to the CS was distinctly enhanced in both Sleep and Wake groups with no significant difference between groups, consistent with the view that consolidation of a simple conditioned reflex response does not require post-training sleep. Surprisingly, extinction training did not reverse the enhancement of responses to the CS. On the contrary, at the 48 h test, withdrawal duration in response to the CS was even further enhanced across both groups. This suggests that processes of sensitization, an even simpler non-associative type of learning, contributed to the withdrawal responses. Our study provides evidence for the hypothesis that sleep preferentially benefits consolidation of more complex learning paradigms than conditioning of simple reflexes.

Dopamine as a Multifunctional Neurotransmitter in Gastropod Molluscs: An Evolutionary Hypothesis

AbstractThe catecholamine 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine, or dopamine, acts as a neurotransmitter across a broad phylogenetic spectrum. Functions attributed to dopamine in the mammalian brain include regulation of motor circuits, valuation of sensory stimuli, and mediation of reward or reinforcement signals. Considerable evidence also supports a neurotransmitter role for dopamine in gastropod molluscs, and there is growing appreciation for its potential common functions across phylogeny. This article reviews evidence for dopamine's transmitter role in the nervous systems of gastropods. The functional properties of identified dopaminergic neurons in well-characterized neural circuits suggest a hypothetical incremental sequence by which dopamine accumulated its diverse roles. The successive acquisition of dopamine functions is proposed in the context of gastropod feeding behavior: (1) sensation of potential nutrients, (2) activation of motor circuits, (3) selection of motor patterns from multifunctional circuits, (4) valuation of sensory stimuli with reference to internal state, (5) association of motor programs with their outcomes, and (6) coincidence detection between sensory stimuli and their consequences. At each stage of this sequence, it is proposed that existing functions of dopaminergic neurons favored their recruitment to fulfill additional information processing demands. Common functions of dopamine in other intensively studied groups, ranging from mammals and insects to nematodes, suggest an ancient origin for this progression.

miRNA-324/-133a essential for recruiting new synapse innervations and associative memory cells in coactivated sensory cortices

After the integrative storage of associated signals, a signal induces the recollection of its associated signal, or the other way around. This associative memory is essential to associative thinking, logical reasoning, imagination and computation. In terms of cellular mechanisms underlying associative memory, new mutual synapse innervations are formed among those coactivated neurons, so that they are recruited to be associative memory cells or associative memory neurons. These associative memory cells receive new synapse innervations alongside innate synapse inputs and encode signals carried by these inputs. We proposed to examine microRNAs as initiative factors for recruiting new synapse innervations and associative memory cells. In a mouse model of associative memory characterized as the reciprocal retrieval of associated whisker and odor signals, barrel and piriform cortical neurons gain their ability to encode whisker and odorant signals based on the newly formed synapse innervations between these coactivated cortices besides innate synapse inputs. miRNA-324 and miRNA-133a are required for recruiting these new synapse innervations and associative memory cells as well as sufficient for facilitating their recruitments, but not for innate synapse inputs. Therefore, the coactivation of sensory cortices through microRNA as initiative factor to recruit new mutual synapse innervations and associative memory cells for associative memory.

Coactivations of barrel and piriform cortices induce their mutual synapse innervations and recruit associative memory cells

After associative learning, a signal induces the recall of its associated signal, or the other way around. This reciprocal retrieval of associated signals is essential for associative thinking and logical reasoning. For the cellular mechanism underlying this associative memory, we hypothesized that the formation of synapse innervations among coactivated sensory cortices and the recruitment of associative memory cells were involved in the integrative storage and reciprocal retrieval of associated signals. Our study indicated that the paired whisker and olfaction stimulations led to an odorant-induced whisker motion and a whisker-induced olfaction response, a reciprocal form of associative memory retrieval. In mice that showed the reciprocal retrieval of associated signals, their barrel and piriform cortical neurons became mutually innervated through their axon projection and new synapse formation. These piriform and barrel cortical neurons gained the ability to encode both whisker and olfaction signals based on synapse innervations from the innate input and the newly formed input. Therefore, the associated activation of sensory cortices by pairing input signals initiates their mutual synapse innervations, and the neurons innervated by new and innate synapses are recruited to be associative memory cells that encode these associated signals. Mutual synapse innervations among sensory cortices to recruit associative memory cells may compose the primary foundation for the integrative storage and reciprocal retrieval of associated signals. Our study also reveals that new synapses onto the neurons enable these neurons to encode memories to new specific signals.

Successful and unsuccessful attempts to swallow in a reduced Aplysia preparation regulate feeding responses and produce memory at different neural sites

Sensory feedback shapes ongoing behavior and may produce learning and memory. Motor responses to edible or inedible food in a reduced Aplysia preparation were examined to test how sensory feedback affects behavior and memory. Feeding patterns were initiated by applying a cholinomimetic onto the cerebral ganglion. Feedback from buccal muscles increased the response variability and response rate. Repeated application of the cholinomimetic caused decreased responses, expressed in part by lengthening protractions. Swallowing strips of "edible" food, which in intact animals induces learning that enhances ingestion, increased the response rate, and shortened the protraction length, reflecting more swallowing. Testing memory by repeating the procedure prevented the decrease in response rate observed with the cholinomimetic alone, and shortened protractions. Training with "inedible" food that in intact animals produces learning expressed by decreased responses caused lengthened protractions. Testing memory by repeating the procedure did not cause decreased responses or lengthened protractions. After training and testing with edible or inedible food, all preparations were exposed to the cholinomimetic alone. Preparations previously trained with edible food displayed memory expressed as decreased protraction length. Preparations previously trained with inedible food showed decreases in many response parameters. Memory for inedible food may arise in part via a postsynaptic decrease in response to acetylcholine released by afferents sensing food. The lack of change in response number, and in the time that responses are maintained during the two training sessions preceding application of the cholinomimetic alone suggests that memory expression may differ from behavioral changes during training.

Searching basic units in memory traces: associative memory cells

The acquisition of associated signals is commonly seen in life. The integrative storage of these exogenous and endogenous signals is essential for cognition, emotion and behaviors. In terms of basic units of memory traces or engrams, associative memory cells are recruited in the brain during learning, cognition and emotional reactions. The recruitment and refinement of associative memory cells facilitate the retrieval of memory-relevant events and the learning of reorganized unitary signals that have been acquired. The recruitment of associative memory cells is fulfilled by generating mutual synapse innervations among them in coactivated brain regions. Their axons innervate downstream neurons convergently and divergently to recruit secondary associative memory cells. Mutual synapse innervations among associative memory cells confer the integrative storage and reciprocal retrieval of associated signals. Their convergent synapse innervations to secondary associative memory cells endorse integrative cognition. Their divergent innervations to secondary associative memory cells grant multiple applications of associated signals. Associative memory cells in memory traces are defined to be nerve cells that are able to encode multiple learned signals and receive synapse innervations carrying these signals. An impairment in the recruitment and refinement of associative memory cells will lead to the memory deficit associated with neurological diseases and psychological disorders. This review presents a comprehensive diagram for the recruitment and refinement of associative memory cells for memory-relevant events in a lifetime.

Effects of internal and external factors on the budgeting between defensive and non-defensive responses in Aplysia

Following exposure to aversive stimuli, organisms budget their behaviors by augmenting defensive responses and reducing/suppressing non-defensive behaviors. This budgeting process must be flexible to accommodate modifications in the animal's internal and/or external state that require the normal balance between defensive and non-defensive behaviors to be adjusted. When exposed to aversive stimuli, the mollusk Aplysia budgets its behaviors by concurrently enhancing defensive withdrawal reflexes (an elementary form of learning known as sensitization) and suppressing feeding. Sensitization and feeding suppression are consistently co-expressed following different training protocols and share common temporal domains, suggesting that they are interlocked. In this study, we attempted to uncouple the co-expression of sensitization and feeding suppression using: 1) manipulation of the animal's motivational state through prolonged food deprivation and 2) extended training with aversive stimuli that induces sensitization lasting for weeks. Both manipulations uncoupled the co-expression of the above behavioral changes. Prolonged food deprivation prevented the expression of sensitization, but not of feeding suppression. Following the extended training, sensitization and feeding suppression were co-expressed only for a limited time (i.e., 24 h), after which feeding returned to baseline levels as sensitization persisted for up to seven days. These findings indicate that sensitization and feeding suppression are not interlocked and that their co-expression can be uncoupled by internal (prolonged food deprivation) and external (extended aversive training) factors. The different strategies, by which the co-expression of sensitization and feeding suppression was altered, provide an example of how budgeting strategies triggered by an identical aversive experience can vary depending on the state of the organism.

Associative memory cells and their working principle in the brain

The acquisition, integration and storage of exogenous associated signals are termed as associative learning and memory. The consequences and processes of associative thinking and logical reasoning based on these stored exogenous signals can be memorized as endogenous signals, which are essential for decision making, intention, and planning. Associative memory cells recruited in these primary and secondary associative memories are presumably the foundation for the brain to fulfill cognition events and emotional reactions in life, though the plasticity of synaptic connectivity and neuronal activity has been believed to be involved in learning and memory. Current reports indicate that associative memory cells are recruited by their mutual synapse innervations among co-activated brain regions to fulfill the integration, storage and retrieval of associated signals. The activation of these associative memory cells initiates information recall in the mind, and the successful activation of their downstream neurons endorses memory presentations through behaviors and emotion reactions. In this review, we aim to draw a comprehensive diagram for associative memory cells, working principle and modulation, as well as propose their roles in cognition, emotion and behaviors.

Toward a multiscale modeling framework for understanding serotonergic function

Despite its importance in regulating emotion and mental wellbeing, the complex structure and function of the serotonergic system present formidable challenges toward understanding its mechanisms. In this paper, we review studies investigating the interactions between serotonergic and related brain systems and their behavior at multiple scales, with a focus on biologically-based computational modeling. We first discuss serotonergic intracellular signaling and neuronal excitability, followed by neuronal circuit and systems levels. At each level of organization, we will discuss the experimental work accompanied by related computational modeling work. We then suggest that a multiscale modeling approach that integrates the various levels of neurobiological organization could potentially transform the way we understand the complex functions associated with serotonin.

Inferring neuronal network functional connectivity with directed information

A major challenge in neuroscience is to develop effective tools that infer the circuit connectivity from large-scale recordings of neuronal activity patterns. In this study, context tree maximizing (CTM) was used to estimate directed information (DI), which measures causal influences among neural spike trains in order to infer putative synaptic connections. In contrast to existing methods, the method presented here is data driven and can readily identify both linear and nonlinear relations between neurons. This CTM-DI method reliably identified circuit structures underlying simulations of realistic conductance-based networks. It also inferred circuit properties from voltage-sensitive dye recordings of the buccal ganglion of Aplysia. This method can be applied to other large-scale recordings as well. It offers a systematic tool to map network connectivity and to track changes in network structure such as synaptic strengths as well as the degrees of connectivity of individual neurons, which in turn could provide insights into how modifications produced by learning are distributed in a neural network.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study brings together the techniques of voltage-sensitive dye recording and information theory to infer the functional connectome of the feeding central pattern generating network of Aplysia. In contrast to current statistical approaches, the inference method developed in this study is data driven and validated by conductance-based model circuits, can distinguish excitatory and inhibitory connections, is robust against synaptic plasticity, and is capable of detecting network structures that mediate motor patterns.

Coordinated Plasticity between Barrel Cortical Glutamatergic and GABAergic Neurons during Associative Memory

Neural plasticity is associated with memory formation. The coordinated refinement and interaction between cortical glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons remain elusive in associative memory, which we examine in a mouse model of associative learning. In the mice that show odorant-induced whisker motion after pairing whisker and odor stimulations, the barrel cortical glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons are recruited to encode the newly learnt odor signal alongside the innate whisker signal. These glutamatergic neurons are functionally upregulated, and GABAergic neurons are refined in a homeostatic manner. The mutual innervations between these glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons are upregulated. The analyses by high throughput sequencing show that certain microRNAs related to regulating synapses and neurons are involved in this cross-modal reflex. Thus, the coactivation of the sensory cortices through epigenetic processes recruits their glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons to be the associative memory cells as well as drive their coordinated refinements toward the optimal state for the storage of the associated signals.

Neurons in the barrel cortex turn into processing whisker and odor signals: a cellular mechanism for the storage and retrieval of associative signals

Associative learning and memory are essential to logical thinking and cognition. How the neurons are recruited as associative memory cells to encode multiple input signals for their associated storage and distinguishable retrieval remains unclear. We studied this issue in the barrel cortex by in vivo two-photon calcium imaging, electrophysiology, and neural tracing in our mouse model that the simultaneous whisker and olfaction stimulations led to odorant-induced whisker motion. After this cross-modal reflex arose, the barrel and piriform cortices connected. More than 40% of barrel cortical neurons became to encode odor signal alongside whisker signal. Some of these neurons expressed distinct activity patterns in response to acquired odor signal and innate whisker signal, and others encoded similar pattern in response to these signals. In the meantime, certain barrel cortical astrocytes encoded odorant and whisker signals. After associative learning, the neurons and astrocytes in the sensory cortices are able to store the newly learnt signal (cross-modal memory) besides the innate signal (native-modal memory). Such associative memory cells distinguish the differences of these signals by programming different codes and signify the historical associations of these signals by similar codes in information retrievals.

Phylogenetic and individual variation in gastropod central pattern generators

Gastropod molluscs provide a unique opportunity to explore the neural basis of rhythmic behaviors because of the accessibility of their nervous systems and the number of species that have been examined. Detailed comparisons of the central pattern generators (CPGs) underlying rhythmic feeding and swimming behaviors highlight the presence and effects of variation in neural circuits both across and within species. The feeding motor pattern of the snail, Lymnaea, is stereotyped, whereas the feeding motor pattern in the sea hare, Aplysia, is variable. However, the Aplysia motor pattern is regularized with operant conditioning or by mimicking learning using the dynamic clamp to change properties of CPG neurons. Swimming evolved repeatedly in marine gastropods. Distinct neural mechanisms underlie dissimilar forms of swimming, with homologous neurons playing different roles. However, even similar swimming behaviors in different species can be produced by distinct neural mechanisms, resulting from different synaptic connectivity of homologous neurons. Within a species, there can be variation in the strength and even valence of synapses, which does not have functional relevance under normal conditions, but can cause some individuals to be more susceptible to lesion of the circuit. This inter- and intra-species variation provides novel insights into CPG function and plasticity.

Differential roles of nonsynaptic and synaptic plasticity in operant reward learning-induced compulsive behavior

BACKGROUND

Rewarding stimuli in associative learning can transform the irregularly and infrequently generated motor patterns underlying motivated behaviors into output for accelerated and stereotyped repetitive action. This transition to compulsive behavioral expression is associated with modified synaptic and membrane properties of central neurons, but establishing the causal relationships between cellular plasticity and motor adaptation has remained a challenge.

RESULTS

We found previously that changes in the intrinsic excitability and electrical synapses of identified neurons in Aplysia's central pattern-generating network for feeding are correlated with a switch to compulsive-like motor output expression induced by in vivo operant conditioning. Here, we used specific computer-simulated ionic currents in vitro to selectively replicate or suppress the membrane and synaptic plasticity resulting from this learning. In naive in vitro preparations, such experimental manipulation of neuronal membrane properties alone increased the frequency but not the regularity of feeding motor output found in preparations from operantly trained animals. On the other hand, changes in synaptic strength alone switched the regularity but not the frequency of feeding output from naive to trained states. However, simultaneously imposed changes in both membrane and synaptic properties reproduced both major aspects of the motor plasticity. Conversely, in preparations from trained animals, experimental suppression of the membrane and synaptic plasticity abolished the increase in frequency and regularity of the learned motor output expression.

CONCLUSIONS

These data establish direct causality for the contributions of distinct synaptic and nonsynaptic adaptive processes to complementary facets of a compulsive behavior resulting from operant reward learning.

Invertebrate learning and cognition: relating phenomena to neural substrate

Diverse invertebrate species have been used for studies of learning and comparative cognition. Although we have gained invaluable information from this, in this study we argue that our approach to comparative learning research is rather deficient. Generally invertebrate learning research has focused mainly on arthropods, and most of that within the Hymenoptera and Diptera. Any true comparative analysis of the distribution of comparative cognitive abilities across phyla is hampered by this bias, and more fundamentally by a reporting bias toward positive results. To understand the limits of learning and cognition for a species, knowing what animals cannot do is at least as important as reporting what they can. Finally, much more effort needs to be focused on the neurobiological analysis of different types of learning to truly understand the differences and similarities of learning types. In this review, we first give a brief overview of the various forms of learning in invertebrates. We also suggest areas where further study is needed for a more comparative understanding of learning. Finally, using what is known of learning in honeybees and the well-studied honeybee brain, we present a model of how various complex forms of learning may be accounted for with the same neural circuitry required for so-called simple learning types. At the neurobiological level, different learning phenomena are unlikely to be independent, and without considering this it is very difficult to correctly interpret the phylogenetic distribution of learning and cognitive abilities. WIREs Cogn Sci 2013, 4:561-582. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1248 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

Implication of dopaminergic modulation in operant reward learning and the induction of compulsive-like feeding behavior in Aplysia

Feeding in Aplysia provides an amenable model system for analyzing the neuronal substrates of motivated behavior and its adaptability by associative reward learning and neuromodulation. Among such learning processes, appetitive operant conditioning that leads to a compulsive-like expression of feeding actions is known to be associated with changes in the membrane properties and electrical coupling of essential action-initiating B63 neurons in the buccal central pattern generator (CPG). Moreover, the food-reward signal for this learning is conveyed in the esophageal nerve (En), an input nerve rich in dopamine-containing fibers. Here, to investigate whether dopamine (DA) is involved in this learning-induced plasticity, we used an in vitro analog of operant conditioning in which electrical stimulation of En substituted the contingent reinforcement of biting movements in vivo. Our data indicate that contingent En stimulation does, indeed, replicate the operant learning-induced changes in CPG output and the underlying membrane and synaptic properties of B63. Significantly, moreover, this network and cellular plasticity was blocked when the input nerve was stimulated in the presence of the DA receptor antagonist cis-flupenthixol. These results therefore suggest that En-derived dopaminergic modulation of CPG circuitry contributes to the operant reward-dependent emergence of a compulsive-like expression of Aplysia's feeding behavior.

Nitric oxide as a regulator of behavior: new ideas from Aplysia feeding

Nitric oxide (NO) regulates Aplysia feeding by novel mechanisms, suggesting new roles for NO in controlling the behavior of higher animals. In Aplysia, (1) NO helps maintain arousal when produced by neurons responding to attempts to swallow food; (2) NO biases the motor system to reject and reposition food that resists swallowing; (3) if mechanically resistant food is not successfully swallowed, NO mediates the formation and expression of memories of food inedibility; (4) NO production at rest inhibits feeding, countering the effects of food stimuli exciting feeding. At a cellular level, NO-dependent channels contribute to the resting potential of neurons controlling food finding and food consumption. Increases in L-arginine after animals eat act as a post-feeding inhibitory signal, presumably by modulating NO production at rest. NO also signals non-feeding behaviors that are associated with feeding inhibition. Thus, depending on context, NO may enhance or inhibit feeding behavior. The different functions of NO may reflect the evolution of NO signaling from a response to tissue damage that was then elaborated and used for additional functions. These results suggest that in higher animals (1) elicited and background transmitter release may have similar effects; (2) NO may be produced by neurons without firing, influencing adjacent neurons; (3) background NO production may contribute to a neuron's resting potential; (4) circulating factors affecting background NO production may regulate spatially separated neurons; (5) L-arginine can be used to regulate neural activity; (6) L-arginine may be an effective post-ingestion metabolic signal to regulate feeding.

Rapid and persistent suppression of feeding behavior induced by sensitization training in Aplysia

In Aplysia, noxious stimuli induce sensitization of defensive responses. However, it remains largely unknown whether such stimuli also alter nondefensive behaviors. In this study, we examined the effects of noxious stimuli on feeding. Strong electric shocks, capable of inducing sensitization, also led to the suppression of feeding. The use of multiple training protocols revealed that the time course of the suppression of feeding was analogous to that of sensitization. In addition, the suppression of feeding was present only at the time points in which sensitization was expressed. These results suggest that, in Aplysia, noxious stimuli may produce concurrent changes in neural circuits controlling both defensive and nondefensive behaviors.

Gross and histologic evaluation of 5 suture materials in the skin and subcutaneous tissue of the California sea hare (Aplysia californica)

Invertebrates are increasing in their importance to both the public and private aquarium trade and play a vital role in biomedical research. Surgical techniques have become an important approach to obtaining data and maintaining good health in both of these areas. However, studies examining tissue reaction to suture material in invertebrates are lacking. The current study evaluated the gross and histologic reaction of Aplysia californica to 5 commonly used suture materials, including polydioxanone, black braided silk, polyglactin 910, monofilament nylon, and monofilament poliglecaprone. Histologic samples were graded on the amount of edema (score, 1 to 4), inflammation (1 to 4), and granuloma formation (1 to 4) present, and a final overall histology score (1 to 6) was assigned to each sample. Compared with untreated control tissue, all suture materials caused significantly increased tissue reaction, but the overall histology score did not differ among the suture materials. Silk was the only suture that did not have a significantly increased granuloma score when compared with the control. Although none of the suture materials evaluated seemed clearly superior for use in Aplysia, we recommend silk because of its less robust granuloma induction, which is favorable in a clinical and research setting.

Nitric oxide and histamine signal attempts to swallow: A component of learning that food is inedible in Aplysia

Memory that food is inedible in Aplysia arises from training requiring three contingent events. Nitric oxide (NO) and histamine are released by a neuron responding to one of these events, attempts to swallow food. Since NO release during training is necessary for subsequent memory and NO substitutes for attempts to swallow, it was suggested that NO functions during training as a signal of attempts to swallow. However, it has been shown that NO may also be released in other contexts affecting feeding, raising the possibility that its role in learning is unrelated to signaling attempts to swallow. We confirmed that NO during learning signals attempts to swallow, by showing that a variety of behavioral effects on feeding of blocking or adding NO do not affect learning and memory that a food is inedible. In addition, histamine had effects similar to NO on learning that food is inedible, as expected if the transmitters are released together when animals attempt to swallow. Blocking histamine during training blocked long-term memory, and exogenous histamine substituted for attempts to swallow. NO also substituted for histamine during training. Histamine at concentrations relevant to learning activates neuron metacerebral cell (MCC). However, MCC activity is not a good monitor of attempts to swallow during training, since the neuron responds equally well to other stimuli. These findings support and extend the hypothesis that NO and histamine signal efforts to swallow during learning, acting on targets other than the MCC that specifically respond to attempts to swallow.

More than synaptic plasticity: role of nonsynaptic plasticity in learning and memory

Decades of research on the cellular mechanisms of memory have led to the widely held view that memories are stored as modifications of synaptic strength. These changes involve presynaptic processes, such as direct modulation of the release machinery, or postsynaptic processes, such as modulation of receptor properties. Parallel studies have revealed that memories might also be stored by nonsynaptic processes, such as modulation of voltage-dependent membrane conductances, which are expressed as changes in neuronal excitability. Although in some cases nonsynaptic changes can function as part of the engram itself, they might also serve as mechanisms through which a neural circuit is set to a permissive state to facilitate synaptic modifications that are necessary for memory storage.

Motor outputs in a multitasking network: relative contributions of inputs and experience-dependent network states

Network outputs elicited by a specific stimulus may differ radically depending on the momentary network state. One class of networks states-experience-dependent states-is known to operate in numerous networks, yet the fundamental question concerning the relative role that inputs and states play in determining the network outputs remains to be investigated in a behaviorally relevant manner. Because previous work indicated that in the isolated nervous system the motor outputs of the Aplysia feeding network are affected by experience-dependent states, we sought to establish the behavioral relevance of these outputs. We analyzed the phasing of firing of radula opening motoneurons (B44 and B48) relative to other previously characterized motoneurons. We found that the overall pattern of motoneuronal firing corresponds to the phasing of movements during feeding behavior, thus indicating a behavioral relevance of network outputs. Previous studies suggested that network inputs act to trigger a response rather than to shape its characteristics, with the latter function being fulfilled by network states. We show this is an oversimplification. In a rested state, different inputs elicited distinct responses, indicating that inputs not only trigger but also shape the responses. However, depending on the combination of inputs and states, responses were either dramatically altered by the network state or were indistinguishable from those observed in the rested state. We suggest that the relative contributions of inputs and states are dynamically regulated and, rather than being fixed, depend on the specifics of states and inputs.

Localization of biogenic amines in the foregut of Aplysia californica: catecholaminergic and serotonergic innervation

This study examined the catecholaminergic and serotonergic innervation of the foregut of Aplysia californica, a model system in which the control of feeding behaviors can be investigated at the cellular level. Similar numbers (15-25) of serotonin-like-immunoreactive (5HTli) and tyrosine hydroxylase-like-immunoreactive (THli) fibers were present in each (bilateral) esophageal nerve (En), the major source of pregastric neural innervation in this system. The majority of En 5HTli and THli fibers originated from the anterior branch (En(2)), which innervates the pharynx and the anterior esophagus. Fewer fibers were present in the posterior branch (En(1)), which innervates the majority of the esophagus and the crop. Backfills of the two En branches toward the central nervous system (CNS) labeled a single, centrifugally projecting serotonergic fiber, originating from the metacerebral cell (MCC). The MCC fiber projected only to En(2). No central THli neurons were found to project to the En. Surveys of the pharynx and esophagus revealed major differences between their patterns of catecholaminergic (CA) and serotonergic innervation. Whereas THli fibers and cell bodies were distributed throughout the foregut, 5HTli fibers were present in restricted plexi, and no 5HTli somata were detected. Double-labeling experiments in the periphery revealed THli neurons projecting toward the buccal ganglion via En(2). Other afferents received dense perisomatic serotonergic innervation. Finally, qualitative and quantitative differences were observed between the buccal motor programs (BMPs) produced by stimulation of the two En branches. These observations increase our understanding of aminergic contributions to the pregastric regulation of Aplysia feeding behaviors.

Molecular mechanisms underlying a cellular analog of operant reward learning

Operant conditioning is a ubiquitous but mechanistically poorly understood form of associative learning in which an animal learns the consequences of its behavior. Using a single-cell analog of operant conditioning in neuron B51 of Aplysia, we examined second-messenger pathways engaged by activity and reward and how they may provide a biochemical association underlying operant learning. Conditioning was blocked by Rp-cAMP, a peptide inhibitor of PKA, a PKC inhibitor, and by expressing a dominant-negative isoform of Ca2+-dependent PKC (apl-I). Thus, both PKA and PKC were necessary for operant conditioning. Injection of cAMP into B51 mimicked the effects of operant conditioning. Activation of PKC also mimicked conditioning but was dependent on both cAMP and PKA, suggesting that PKC acted at some point upstream of PKA activation. Our results demonstrate how these molecules can interact to mediate operant conditioning in an individual neuron important for the expression of the conditioned behavior.

Currents contributing to decision making in neurons B31/B32 of Aplysia

Biophysical properties of neurons contributing to the ability of an animal to decide whether or not to respond were examined. B31/B32, two pairs of bilaterally symmetrical Aplysia neurons, are major participants in deciding to initiate a buccal motor program, the neural correlate of a consummatory feeding response. B31/B32 respond to an adequate stimulus after a delay, during which time additional stimuli influence the decision to respond. B31/B32 then respond with a ramp depolarization followed by a sustained soma depolarization and axon spiking that is the expression of a commitment to respond to food. Four currents contributing to decision making in B31/B32 were characterized, and their functional effects were determined, in current- and voltage-clamp experiments and with simulations. Inward currents arising from slow muscarinic transmission were characterized. These currents contribute to the B31/B32 depolarization. Their slow activation kinetics contribute to the delay preceding B31/B32 activity. After the delay, inward currents affect B31/B32 in the context of two endogenous inactivating outward currents: a delayed rectifier K+ current (I(K-V)) and an A-type K+ current (I(K-A)), as well as a high-threshold noninactivating outward current (I(maintained)). Hodgkin-Huxley kinetic analyses were performed on the outward currents. Simulations using equations from these analyses showed that I(K-V) and I(K-A) slow the ramp depolarization preceding the sustained depolarization. The three outward currents contribute to braking the B31/B32 depolarization and keeping the sustained depolarization at a constant voltage. The currents identified are sufficient to explain the properties of B31/B32 that play a role in generating the decision to feed.

Feeding behavior of Aplysia: a model system for comparing cellular mechanisms of classical and operant conditioning

Feeding behavior of Aplysia provides an excellent model system for analyzing and comparing mechanisms underlying appetitive classical conditioning and reward operant conditioning. Behavioral protocols have been developed for both forms of associative learning, both of which increase the occurrence of biting following training. Because the neural circuitry that mediates the behavior is well characterized and amenable to detailed cellular analyses, substantial progress has been made toward a comparative analysis of the cellular mechanisms underlying these two forms of associative learning. Both forms of associative learning use the same reinforcement pathway (the esophageal nerve, En) and the same reinforcement transmitter (dopamine, DA). In addition, at least one cellular locus of plasticity (cell B51) is modified by both forms of associative learning. However, the two forms of associative learning have opposite effects on B51. Classical conditioning decreases the excitability of B51, whereas operant conditioning increases the excitability of B51. Thus, the approach of using two forms of associative learning to modify a single behavior, which is mediated by an analytically tractable neural circuit, is revealing similarities and differences in the mechanisms that underlie classical and operant conditioning.

A context-specific single contingent-reinforcing stimulus boosts intermediate-term memory into long-term memory

Following operant conditioning of aerial respiration in Lymnaea, memory forms. Depending on the training procedure either intermediate memory (ITM, < 3 h) or long-term memory (LTM, > 6 h) results. ITM is dependent on de novo protein synthesis whilst LTM is dependent on both transcription and de novo protein synthesis. LTM formation requires the soma of RPeD1 (one of the central pattern generator neurons) to be present. Following activation of a memory, it re-enters a labile state and undergoes a reconsolidation process to restabilize it. During reconsolidation, memory may be updated and/or changed. We add here another consequence of memory reactivation: a single contingent-reinforcing stimulus (SCRS), given in the same context as previous ITM training, boosts a residual memory trace to LTM. Separate cohorts of snails first received the ITM training procedure. In the cohort that received the SCRS 24 h after the last ITM training session, LTM was observed on the following day. LTM was not observed in cohorts that were: (i) given a single noncontingent stimulus; (ii) given the SCRS in a context other than the ITM training; (iii) given a 48-h gap between the last ITM training session and the context-specific SCRS; (iv) cooled immediately after the last ITM training session; (v) cooled immediately after the delivery of the context-specific SCRS; (vi) had the soma of RPeD1 ablated before the presentation of the context-specific SCRS; (vii) received a yoked control procedure. These data lead us to conclude that the context-specific SCRS reactivates a residual molecular memory trace in RPeD1 and boosts it into becoming the substrate for LTM.

Target-specific regulation of synaptic efficacy in the feeding central pattern generator of Aplysia: potential substrates for behavioral plasticity?

The contributions to this symposium are unified by their focus on the role of synaptic plasticity in sensorimotor learning. Synaptic plasticities are also known to operate within the central pattern generator (CPG) circuits that produce repetitive motor programs, where their relation to adaptive behavior is less well understood. This study examined divergent synaptic plasticity in the signaling of an influential interneuron, B20, located within the CPG that controls consummatory feeding-related behaviors in Aplysia. Previously, B20 was shown to contain markers for catecholamines and GABA (Díaz-Ríos et al., 2002), and its rapid synaptic signaling to two follower motor neurons, B16 and B8, was found to be mediated by dopamine (Díaz-Ríos and Miller, 2005). In this investigation, two incremental forms of increased synaptic efficacy, facilitation and summation, were both greater in the signaling from B20 to B8 than in the signaling from B20 to B16. Manipulation of the membrane potentials of the two postsynaptic motor neurons did not affect facilitation of excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) to either follower cell. Striking levels of summation in B8, however, were eliminated at hyperpolarized membrane potentials and could be attributed to distinctive membrane properties of this postsynaptic cell. GABA and the GABAB agonist baclofen increased facilitation and summation of EPSPs from B20 to B8, but not to B16. The enhanced facilitation was not affected when the membrane potential of B8 was pre-set to hyperpolarized levels, but GABAergic effects on summation were eliminated by this manipulation. These observations demonstrate a target-specific amplification of synaptic efficacy that can contribute to channeling the flow of divergent information from an intrinsic interneuron within the buccal CPG. They further suggest that GABA, acting as a cotransmitter in B20, could induce coordinated and target-specific pre- and postsynaptic modulation of these signals. Finally, we speculate that target-specific plasticity and its modulation could be efficient, specific, and flexible substrates for learning-related modifications of CPG function.

Classical and operant conditioning differentially modify the intrinsic properties of an identified neuron

A long-standing debate in neuroscience is whether classical and operant conditioning are mechanistically similar or distinct. The feeding behavior of Aplysia provides a model system suitable for addressing this question. Here we report that classical and operant conditioning of feeding behavior differentially modify the intrinsic excitability of neuron B51, a critical element for the expression of the feeding response, thus revealing that these two forms of associative learning differ at the cellular level.

Reinforcement in an in vitro analog of appetitive classical conditioning of feeding behavior in Aplysia: blockade by a dopamine antagonist

In a recently developed in vitro analog of appetitive classical conditioning of feeding in Aplysia, the unconditioned stimulus (US) was electrical stimulation of the esophageal nerve (En). This nerve is rich in dopamine (DA)-containing processes, which suggests that DA mediates reinforcement during appetitive conditioning. To test this possibility, methylergonovine was used to antagonize DA receptors. Methylergonovine (1 nM) blocked the pairing-specific increase in fictive feeding that is usually induced by in vitro classical conditioning. The present results and previous observation that methylergonovine also blocks the effects of contingent reinforcement in an in vitro analog of appetitive operant conditioning suggest that DA mediates reinforcement for appetitive associative conditioning of feeding in Aplysia.

Rapid Dopaminergic Signaling by Interneurons That Contain Markers for Catecholamines and GABA in the Feeding Circuitry of Aplysia

Consummatory feeding behaviors in Aplysia californica are controlled by a polymorphic central pattern generator (CPG) circuit. Previous investigations have demonstrated colocalization of markers for GABA and catecholamines within two interneurons, B20 and B65, that participate in configuring the functional output of this CPG. This study examined the contributions of GABA and dopamine (DA) to rapid synaptic signaling from B20 and B65 to follower cells that implement their specification of motor programs. Pharmacological tests did not substantiate the participation of GABA in the mediation of the excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) from either B20 or B65. However, GABA and the GABAB receptor agonist baclofen were found to modify these signals in a target-specific manner. Several observations indicated that DA acts as the neurotransmitter mediating fast EPSPs from B20 to two radula closer motor neurons B8 and B16. In both motor neurons, application of DA produced depolarizing responses associated with decreased input resistance and increased excitation. B20-evoked EPSPs in both follower cells were occluded by exogenous dopamine and blocked by the DA antagonist sulpiride. While dopamine occlusion and sulpiride block of convergent signaling to B8 from B65 resembled that of B20, both of these actions were less potent on the rapid signaling from B65 to the multifunctional and widely acting interneuron B4/5. These findings indicate that dopamine mediates divergent (B20 to B16 and B8) and convergent (B20 and B65 to B8) rapid EPSPs from two influential CPG interneurons in which it is colocalized with GABA-like immunoreactivity.

Extending in vitro conditioning in Aplysia to analyze operant and classical processes in the same preparation

Operant and classical conditioning are major processes shaping behavioral responses in all animals. Although the understanding of the mechanisms of classical conditioning has expanded significantly, the understanding of the mechanisms of operant conditioning is more limited. Recent developments in Aplysia are helping to narrow the gap in the level of understanding between operant and classical conditioning, and have raised the possibility of studying the neuronal processes underlying the interaction of operant and classical components in a relatively complex learning task. In the present study, we describe a first step toward realizing this goal, by developing a single in vitro preparation in which both operant and classical conditioning can be studied concurrently. The new paradigm reproduced previously published results, even under more conservative and homogenous selection criteria and tonic stimulation regime. Moreover, the observed learning was resistant to delay, shortening, and signaling of reinforcement.

In vitro analog of classical conditioning of feeding behavior in aplysia

The feeding behavior of Aplysia californica can be classically conditioned using tactile stimulation of the lips as a conditioned stimulus (CS) and food as an unconditioned stimulus (US). Moreover, several neural correlates of classical conditioning have been identified. The present study extended previous work by developing an in vitro analog of classical conditioning and by investigating pairing-specific changes in neuronal and synaptic properties. The preparation consisted of the isolated cerebral and buccal ganglia. Electrical stimulation of a lip nerve (AT4) and a branch of the esophageal nerve (En2) served as the CS and US, respectively. Three protocols were used: paired, unpaired, and US alone. Only the paired protocol produced a significant increase in CS-evoked fictive feeding. At the cellular level, classical conditioning enhanced the magnitude of the CS-evoked synaptic input to pattern-initiating neuron B31/32. In addition, paired training enhanced both the magnitude of the CS-evoked synaptic input and the CS-evoked spike activity in command-like neuron CBI-2. The in vitro analog of classical conditioning reproduced all of the cellular changes that previously were identified following behavioral conditioning and has led to the identification of several new learning-related neural changes. In addition, the pairing-specific enhancement of the CS response in CBI-2 indicates that some aspects of associative plasticity may occur at the level of the cerebral sensory neurons.

Multiple serotonergic mechanisms contributing to sensitization in aplysia: evidence of diverse serotonin receptor subtypes

The neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) plays an important role in memory encoding in Aplysia. Early evidence showed that during sensitization, 5-HT activates a cyclic AMP-protein kinase A (cAMP-PKA)-dependent pathway within specific sensory neurons (SNs), which increases their excitability and facilitates synaptic transmission onto their follower motor neurons (MNs). However, recent data suggest that serotonergic modulation during sensitization is more complex and diverse. The neuronal circuits mediating defensive reflexes contain a number of interneurons that respond to 5-HT in ways opposite to those of the SNs, showing a decrease in excitability and/or synaptic depression. Moreover, in addition to acting through a cAMP-PKA pathway within SNs, 5-HT is also capable of activating a variety of other protein kinases such as protein kinase C, extracellular signal-regulated kinases, and tyrosine kinases. This diversity of 5-HT responses during sensitization suggests the presence of multiple 5-HT receptor subtypes within the Aplysia central nervous system. Four 5-HT receptors have been cloned and characterized to date. Although several others probably remain to be characterized in molecular terms, especially the Gs-coupled 5-HT receptor capable of activating cAMP-PKA pathways, the multiplicity of serotonergic mechanisms recruited into action during learning in Aplysia can now be addressed from a molecular point of view.

Operant conditioning in invertebrates

Learning to anticipate future events on the basis of past experience with the consequences of one's own behavior (operant conditioning) is a simple form of learning that humans share with most other animals, including invertebrates. Three model organisms have recently made significant contributions towards a mechanistic model of operant conditioning, because of their special technical advantages. Research using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster implicated the ignorant gene in operant conditioning in the heat-box, research on the sea slug Aplysia californica contributed a cellular mechanism of behavior selection at a convergence point of operant behavior and reward, and research on the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis elucidated the role of a behavior-initiating neuron in operant conditioning. These insights demonstrate the usefulness of a variety of invertebrate model systems to complement and stimulate research in vertebrates.

Nitric oxide is necessary for multiple memory processes after learning that a food is inedible in aplysia

Nitric oxide (NO) signaling was inhibited via N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) during and after training Aplysia that a food is inedible. Treating animals with L-NAME 10 min before the start of training blocked the formation of three separable memory processes: (1) short-term, (2) intermediate-term, and (3) long-term memory. The treatment also attenuated, but did not block, a fourth memory process, very short-term memory. L-NAME had little or no effect on feeding behavior per se or on most aspects of the animals' behavior while they were being trained, indicating that the substance did not cause a pervasive modulation or poisoning of many aspects of feeding and other behaviors. Application of L-NAME within 1 min after the training had no effect on short- or long-term memory, indicating that NO signaling was not needed during memory consolidation. Treating animals with the NO scavenger 2-phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-imidazdine-1-oxy-3-oxide before training also blocked long-term memory. Memory was not blocked by D-NAME, or by the simultaneous treatment with L-NAME and the NO donor S-nitroso-N-acetyl-penicillamine, confirming that the effect of L-NAME is attributable to its effect as a competitive inhibitor of L-arginine for NO synthase in the production of NO rather than to possible effects at other sites. These data indicate that NO signaling during training plays a critical role in the formation of multiple memory processes.

Operant reward learning in Aplysia: neuronal correlates and mechanisms

Operant conditioning is a form of associative learning through which an animal learns about the consequences of its behavior. Here, we report an appetitive operant conditioning procedure in Aplysia that induces long-term memory. Biophysical changes that accompanied the memory were found in an identified neuron (cell B51) that is considered critical for the expression of behavior that was rewarded. Similar cellular changes in B51 were produced by contingent reinforcement of B51 with dopamine in a single-cell analog of the operant procedure. These findings allow for the detailed analysis of the cellular and molecular processes underlying operant conditioning.

Improved electrochemical detection of biogenic amines in Aplysia using base-hydrolyzed cellulose-coated carbon fiber microelectrodes

A major challenge with electrochemical techniques in vivo, using carbon-fiber microelectrodes, is to achieve sufficient sensitivity to detect the low concentrations of transmitters released by neurons. In particular, when an electrode is inserted into living tissue, its sensitivity is usually substantially decreased as a result of the degradation of the carbon surface by proteins. Here, we show that this decrease can be significantly attenuated by coating the electrode with cellulose acetate. The cellulose film offers a steric barrier that prevents macromolecules from diffusing to the carbon surface and its porosity can be progressively increased by controlled hydrolysis. We compared different cellulose-coated electrodes, either non-hydrolysed or hydrolyzed, in 0.08 N KOH for 10-30 min. We found that dopamine and serotonin detection was blocked by non-hydrolysed cellulose films, but that hydrolysis restored optimal detection similar to uncoated electrodes. Moreover, cellulose films (hydrolyzed for 20 min) significantly diminished electrode degradation in vivo and allowed reliable detection of fast concentration changes with <0.5 s delay, compared to uncoated electrodes. Finally, the sensitivity to endogenous 5-HT release in Aplysia central nervous system was more than doubled with these electrodes. We conclude that the optimal hydrolysis time of cellulose-coated electrodes is approximately 20 min with our protocol and carbon fiber electrodes prepared with this method offer improved sensitivity for the detection of biogenic amines.

Mechanisms underlying fictive feeding in aplysia: coupling between a large neuron with plateau potentials activity and a spiking neuron

The buccal ganglia of Aplysia contain a central pattern generator (CPG) that organizes the rhythmic movements of the radula and buccal mass during feeding. Many of the cellular and synaptic elements of this CPG have been identified and characterized. However, the roles that specific cellular and synaptic properties play in generating patterns of activity are not well understood. To examine these issues, the present study developed computational models of a portion of this CPG and used simulations to investigate processes underlying the initiation of patterned activity. Simulations were done with the SNNAP software package. The simulated network contained two neurons, B31/B32 and B63. The development of the model was guided and constrained by the available current-clamp data that describe the properties of these two protraction-phase interneurons B31/B32 and B63, which are coupled via electrical and chemical synapses. Several configurations of the model were examined. In one configuration, a fast excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) from B63 to B31/B32 was implemented in combination with an endogenous plateau-like potential in B31/B32. In a second configuration, the excitatory synaptic connection from B63 to B31/B32 produced both fast and slow EPSPs in B31/B32 and the plateau-like potential was removed from B31/B32. Simulations indicated that the former configuration (i.e., electrical and fast chemical coupling in combination with a plateau-like potential) gave rise to a circuit that was robust to changes in parameter values and stochastic fluctuations, that closely mimicked empirical observations, and that was extremely sensitive to inputs controlling the onset of a burst. The coupling between the two simulated neurons served to amplify exogenous depolarizations via a positive feedback loop and the subthreshold activation of the plateau-like potential. Once a burst was initiated, the circuit produced the program in an all-or-none fashion. The slow kinetics of the simulated plateau-like potential played important roles in both initiating and maintaining the burst activity. Thus the present study identified cellular and network properties that contribute to the ability of the simulated network to integrate information over an extended period before a decision is made to initiate a burst of activity and suggests that similar mechanisms may operate in the buccal ganglia in initiating feeding movements.

Colocalization of gamma-aminobutyric acid-like immunoreactivity and catecholamines in the feeding network of Aplysia californica

Functional consequences of neurotransmitter coexistence and cotransmission can be readily studied in certain experimentally favorable invertebrate motor systems. In this study, whole-mount histochemical methods were used to identify neurons in which gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-like immunoreactivity (GABAli) was colocalized with catecholamine histofluorescence (CAh; FaGlu method) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-like immunoreactivity (THli) in the feeding motor circuitry (buccal and cerebral ganglia) of the marine mollusc Aplysia californica. In agreement with previous reports, five neurons in the buccal ganglia were found to exhibit CAh. These included the paired B20 buccal-cerebral interneurons (BCIs), the paired B65 buccal interneurons, and an unpaired cell with projections to both cerebral-buccal connectives (CBCs). Experiments in which the FaGlu method was combined with the immunohistochemical detection of GABA revealed double labeling of all five of these neurons. An antibody generated against TH, the rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of catecholamines, was used to obtain an independent determination of GABA-CA colocalization. Biocytin backfills of the CBC performed in conjunction with TH immunohistochemistry revealed labeling of the rostral B20 cell pair and the unpaired CBI near the caudal surface of the right hemiganglion. THli was also present in a prominent bilateral pair of caudal neurons that were not stained with CBC backfills. On the basis of their position, size, shape, and lack of CBC projections, the lateral THli neurons were identified as B65. Double-labeling immunohistochemical experiments revealed GABAli in all five buccal THli neurons. Finally, GABAli was observed in individual B20 and B65 neurons that were identified using electrophysiological criteria and injected with a marker (neurobiotin). Similar methods were used to demonstrate that a previously identified catecholaminergic cerebral-buccal interneuron (CBI) designated CBI-1 contained THli but did not contain GABAli. Although numerous THli and GABAli neurons and fibers were present in the cerebral and buccal ganglia, additional instances of their colocalization were not observed. These findings indicate that GABA and a catecholamine (probably dopamine) are colocalized in a limited number of interneurons within the central pattern generator circuits that control feeding-related behaviors in Aplysia.

Catecholamine-containing cells in the central nervous system and periphery of Aplysia californica

Previous studies have suggested the presence of numerous catecholamine-containing cells in both the central ganglia and peripheral tissues of Aplysia, but they often offered conflicting or incomplete accounts of numbers, locations, and morphologies. The current study combines aldehyde-induced histofluorescence and tyrosine hydroxylase-like immunoreactivity together with confocal microscopy to provide details of these cells. Approximately 35-50 neurones in the cerebral ganglia, 4-8 neurones in the pedal ganglia, 5 neurones in the buccal ganglia, and numerous small fibres in various nerve trunks exhibited both immunoreactivity and aldehyde-induced fluorescence. Approximately 20 cells in the pedal ganglia and 4 cells in the buccal ganglia exhibited only immunoreactivity whereas 15-20 neurons in the cerebral ganglia exhibited only aldehyde-induced fluorescence. No somata in the pleural or abdominal ganglia exhibited aldehyde-induced fluorescence or immunoreactivity. Both aldehyde-induced histofluorescence and immunoreactivity also labelled what appeared to be two classes of catecholamine-containing cells in the gill, siphon, oesophagus, rhinophore, tentacle, and reproductive organs. The more numerous, but smaller cells had subepithelial somata and processes penetrating the overlying body wall, thus suggesting a sensory function. Another class of neurones had larger somata, often located more deeply within the tissue, and occasionally appeared to be multipolar. Processes from these various peripheral cells appeared to comprise the major component of afferent fibres and to form an extensive peripheral plexus, often associated with various muscles. The morphologies of the peripheral cells thus suggest involvement in both local and centrally mediated reflexes and responses, but additional studies must test such hypothesised functions and determine the sensory modalities that the cells mediate.

Neural mechanisms of motor program switching in Aplysia

The Aplysia multifunctional feeding central pattern generator (CPG) produces at least two types of motor programs, ingestion and egestion, that involve two sets of radula movements, protraction-retraction and opening-closing movements. In ingestion, the radula closes during retraction to pull food in, whereas in egestion, the radula closes during protraction to push inedible objects out. Thus, radula closure shifts the phase in which it occurs with respect to protraction-retraction in the two programs. To identify the central switching mechanisms, we compared activity of CPG neurons during the two types of motor programs elicited by a higher-order interneuron, cerebral-buccal interneuron-2 (CBI-2). Although CPG elements (B63, B34, and B64) that mediate the protraction-retraction sequence are active in both programs, two other CPG elements, B20 and B4/5, are preferentially active in egestive programs and play a major role in mediating CBI-2-elicited egestive programs. Both B20 and B4/5 control the phasing of radula closure motoneurons (B8 and B16) to ensure that, in egestive programs, these motoneurons fire and produce radula-closing movements only during protraction. Elsewhere, another higher-order interneuron, CBI-3, was shown to convert CBI-2-elicited egestion to ingestion. We show that CBI-3 switches the programs by suppressing the activity of B20 and B4/5. CBI-3, active only during protraction, accomplishes this through fast inhibition of B20 during protraction and slow inhibition of B4/5 during retraction. The slow inhibition is mimicked and occluded by APGWamide, a neuropeptide contained in CBI-3. Thus, fast conventional and slow peptidergic transmissions originating from the same interneuron act in concert to meet specific temporal requirements in pattern switching.

Context learning and the effect of context on memory retrieval in Lymnaea

Aerial respiratory behavior in Lymnaea was operantly conditioned so that the animals perform aerial respiration significantly less often. Using the standard training procedure (pond water made hypoxic by bubbling N2 through it) both food-deprived and fed animals learned and exhibited long-term memory (LTM). However, food-deprived animals exhibited neither learning nor memory when trained under a condition in which the hypoxic pond water also contained a food odorant (carrot, the food-odorant procedure). Fed animals, however, learned and exhibited LTM with the food-odorant procedure. Thus, the presence of the food odorant per se did not prevent learning or the establishment of LTM. Further experimentation, however, revealed that the ability of the snails to have recall (i.e., memory) for the learned behavior was dependent on the context in which memory was tested. That is, if animals were trained with the food-odorant procedure they could only exhibit recall if tested in the food-odorant context and vice versa with the standard training procedure. Thus, although fed animals could learn and show LTM with either training and testing procedure, LTM could only be seen when they were tested in the context in which they were trained.

Selective expression of electrical correlates of differential appetitive classical conditioning in a feeding network

Electrical correlates of differential appetitive classical conditioning were recorded in the neural network that underlies feeding in the snail Lymnaea stagnalis. In spaced training (15 trials over 3 days), the lips and the tentacle were used as CS+ (reinforced conditioned stimulus) or CS- (nonreinforced conditioned stimulus) sites for behavioral tactile conditioning. In one group of experimental animals, touch to the lips (the CS+ site) was followed by sucrose (the unconditioned stimulus, US), but touch to the tentacle (the CS- site) was not reinforced. In a second experimental group the CS+/CS- sites were reversed. Semi-intact lip-tentacle-CNS preparations were made from both experimental groups and a naive control group. Intracellular recordings were made from the B3 motor neuron of the feeding network, which allowed the monitoring of activity in the feeding central pattern generator (CPG) interneurons as well as early synaptic inputs evoked by the touch stimulus. Following successful behavioral conditioning, the touch stimulus evoked CPG-driven fictive feeding activity at the CS+ but not the CS- sites in both experimental groups. Naive snails/preparations showed no touch responses. A weak asymmetrical stimulus generalization of conditioned feeding was not retained at the electrophysiological level. An early excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) response to touch was only enhanced following conditioning in the Lip CS+/tentacle CS- group but not in the Tentacle CS+/lip CS- group. The results show that the main features of differential appetitive classical conditioning can be recorded at the electrophysiological level, but some characteristics of the conditioned response are selectively expressed in the reduced preparation.

Classical conditioning of feeding in Aplysia: II. Neurophysiological correlates

Feeding behavior in Aplysia californica can be classically conditioned using tactile stimulation of the lips as conditional stimulus (CS) and food as unconditional stimulus (US) [ (companion paper)]. Conditioning resulted in an increase in the number of CS-evoked bites that persisted for at least 24 hr after training. In this study, neurophysiological correlates of classical conditioning training were identified and characterized in an in vitro preparation of the cerebral and buccal ganglia. Stimulation of a lip nerve (AT(4)), which mediates mechanosensory information, resulted in a greater number of buccal motor patterns (BMPs) in ganglia isolated from animals that had received paired training than in ganglia from control animals. The majority of the evoked BMPs were classified as ingestion-like patterns. Intracellular recordings from pattern-initiating neuron B31/32 revealed that stimulation of AT(4) evoked greater excitatory input in B31/32 in preparations from animals that had received paired training than from control animals. In contrast, excitatory input to buccal neuron B4/5 in response to stimulation of AT(4) was not significantly increased by paired training. Moreover, correlates of classical conditioning were specific to stimulation of AT(4). The number of spontaneously occurring BMPs and the intrinsic properties of two buccal neurons (B4/5 and B31/32) did not differ between groups. These results suggest that appetitive classical conditioning of feeding resulted in the pairing-specific strengthening of the polysynaptic pathway between afferent fibers and pattern-initiating neurons of the buccal central pattern generator.