Imaging reveals synaptic targets of a swim-terminating neuron in the leech CNS

A tale of two leeches: Toward the understanding of the evolution and development of behavioral neural circuits

In the animal kingdom, behavioral traits encompass a broad spectrum of biological phenotypes that have critical roles in adaptive evolution, but an EvoDevo approach has not been broadly used to study behavior evolution. Here, we propose that, by integrating two leech model systems, each of which has already attained some success in its respective field, it is possible to take on behavioral traits with an EvoDevo approach. We first identify the developmental changes that may theoretically lead to behavioral evolution and explain why an EvoDevo study of behavior is challenging. Next, we discuss the pros and cons of the two leech model species, Hirudo, a classic model for invertebrate neurobiology, and Helobdella, an emerging model for clitellate developmental biology, as models for behavioral EvoDevo research. Given the limitations of each leech system, neither is particularly strong for behavioral EvoDevo. However, the two leech systems are complementary in their technical accessibilities, and they do exhibit some behavioral similarities and differences. By studying them in parallel and together with additional leech species such as Haementeria, it is possible to explore the different levels of behavioral development and evolution.

Higher Network Activity Induced by Tactile Compared to Electrical Stimulation of Leech Mechanoreceptors

The tiny ensemble of neurons in the leech ganglion can discriminate the locations of touch stimuli on the skin as precisely as a human fingertip. The leech uses this ability to locally bend the body-wall away from the stimulus. It is assumed that a three-layered feedforward network of pressure mechanoreceptors, interneurons, and motor neurons controls this behavior. Most previous studies identified and characterized the local bend network based on electrical stimulation of a single pressure mechanoreceptor, which was sufficient to trigger the local bend response. Recent studies showed, however, that up to six mechanoreceptors of three types innervating the stimulated patch of skin carry information about both touch intensity and location simultaneously. Therefore, we hypothesized that interneurons involved in the local bend network might require the temporally concerted inputs from the population of mechanoreceptors representing tactile stimuli, to decode the tactile information and to provide appropriate synaptic inputs to the motor neurons. We examined the influence of current injection into a single mechanoreceptor on activity of postsynaptic interneurons in the network and compared it to responses of interneurons to skin stimulation with different pressure intensities. We used voltage-sensitive dye imaging to monitor the graded membrane potential changes of all visible cells on the ventral side of the ganglion. Our results showed that stimulation of a single mechanoreceptor activates several local bend interneurons, consistent with previous intracellular studies. Tactile skin stimulation, however, evoked a more pronounced, longer-lasting, stimulus intensity-dependent network dynamics involving more interneurons. We concluded that the underlying local bend network enables a non-linear processing of tactile information provided by population of mechanoreceptors. This task requires a more complex network structure than previously assumed, probably containing polysynaptic interneuron connections and feedback loops. This small, experimentally well-accessible neuronal system highlights the general importance of selecting adequate sensory stimulation to investigate the network dynamics in the context of natural behavior.

A double-sided microscope to realize whole-ganglion imaging of membrane potential in the medicinal leech

Studies of neuronal network emergence during sensory processing and motor control are greatly facilitated by technologies that allow us to simultaneously record the membrane potential dynamics of a large population of neurons in single cell resolution. To achieve whole-brain recording with the ability to detect both small synaptic potentials and action potentials, we developed a voltage-sensitive dye (VSD) imaging technique based on a double-sided microscope that can image two sides of a nervous system simultaneously. We applied this system to the segmental ganglia of the medicinal leech. Double-sided VSD imaging enabled simultaneous recording of membrane potential events from almost all of the identifiable neurons. Using data obtained from double-sided VSD imaging, we analyzed neuronal dynamics in both sensory processing and generation of behavior and constructed functional maps for identification of neurons contributing to these processes.

In every animal, networks of nerve cells work together to interpret signals from the environment and to coordinate responses. Being able to record the activity of all the neurons in a brain at once would greatly advance our understanding of how the brain works. Yet it is not possible to do this for a human brain, which contains several billion neurons. The medicinal leech, on the other hand, has a much simpler nervous system. It has 21 brain-like units called segmental ganglia, which control how the parts of its body move, and each one contains about 400 neurons arranged on a single layer.

The activity of large populations of neurons can be monitored using a technique called fluorescent imaging. Most fluorescent dyes, however, are not sensitive enough to report low levels of activity or fast enough to track individual nerve impulses. Also, current microscopy techniques only allow one surface to be imaged at any one time. These limitations constrain the kinds of questions that neuroscientists can ask about how networks of nerve cells function.

Tomina and Wagenaar have now developed a double-sided fluorescent microscope system that allows a ganglion in a medicinal leech to be viewed from both sides at once. Using a new generation of dyes, which rapidly change their brightness as individual neurons become active or are inhibited, subtle changes in the activity of hundreds of individual neurons were monitored at the same time. In a test of the system, Tomina and Wagenaar recorded activity for different leech behaviors, like bending, swimming and crawling. For the first time, the relationships between neurons on both sides of the ganglion could be seen.

This new technique for examining the activity in neuronal circuitry will allow complex networks of neurons to be studied in more detail. The data that these images generate could then be analyzed mathematically to better understand how the brain processes information from its senses and generates behavior.

Selective Inhibition Mediates the Sequential Recruitment of Motor Pools

Locomotor systems generate diverse motor patterns to produce the movements underlying behavior, requiring that motor neurons be recruited at various phases of the locomotor cycle. Reciprocal inhibition produces alternating motor patterns; however, the mechanisms that generate other phasic relationships between intrasegmental motor pools are unknown. Here, we investigate one such motor pattern in the Drosophila larva, using a multidisciplinary approach including electrophysiology and ssTEM-based circuit reconstruction. We find that two motor pools that are sequentially recruited during locomotion have identical excitable properties. In contrast, they receive input from divergent premotor circuits. We find that this motor pattern is not orchestrated by differential excitatory input but by a GABAergic interneuron acting as a delay line to the later-recruited motor pool. Our findings show how a motor pattern is generated as a function of the modular organization of locomotor networks through segregation of inhibition, a potentially general mechanism for sequential motor patterns.

Scalable Semisupervised Functional Neurocartography Reveals Canonical Neurons in Behavioral Networks

Large-scale data collection efforts to map the brain are underway at multiple spatial and temporal scales, but all face fundamental problems posed by high-dimensional data and intersubject variability. Even seemingly simple problems, such as identifying a neuron/brain region across animals/subjects, become exponentially more difficult in high dimensions, such as recognizing dozens of neurons/brain regions simultaneously. We present a framework and tools for functional neurocartography-the large-scale mapping of neural activity during behavioral states. Using a voltage-sensitive dye (VSD), we imaged the multifunctional responses of hundreds of leech neurons during several behaviors to identify and functionally map homologous neurons. We extracted simple features from each of these behaviors and combined them with anatomical features to create a rich medium-dimensional feature space. This enabled us to use machine learning techniques and visualizations to characterize and account for intersubject variability, piece together a canonical atlas of neural activity, and identify two behavioral networks. We identified 39 neurons (18 pairs, 3 unpaired) as part of a canonical swim network and 17 neurons (8 pairs, 1 unpaired) involved in a partially overlapping preparatory network. All neurons in the preparatory network rapidly depolarized at the onsets of each behavior, suggesting that it is part of a dedicated rapid-response network. This network is likely mediated by the S cell, and we referenced VSD recordings to an activity atlas to identify multiple cells of interest simultaneously in real time for further experiments. We targeted and electrophysiologically verified several neurons in the swim network and further showed that the S cell is presynaptic to multiple neurons in the preparatory network. This study illustrates the basic framework to map neural activity in high dimensions with large-scale recordings and how to extract the rich information necessary to perform analyses in light of intersubject variability.

Optically transparent multi-suction electrode arrays

Multielectrode arrays (MEAs) allow for acquisition of multisite electrophysiological activity with submillisecond temporal resolution from neural preparations. The signal to noise ratio from such arrays has recently been improved by substrate perforations that allow negative pressure to be applied to the tissue; however, such arrays are not optically transparent, limiting their potential to be combined with optical-based technologies. We present here multi-suction electrode arrays (MSEAs) in quartz that yield a substantial increase in the detected number of units and in signal to noise ratio from mouse cortico-hippocampal slices and mouse retina explants. This enables the visualization of stronger cross correlations between the firing rates of the various sources. Additionally, the MSEA's transparency allows us to record voltage sensitive dye activity from a leech ganglion with single neuron resolution using widefield microscopy simultaneously with the electrode array recordings. The combination of enhanced electrical signals and compatibility with optical-based technologies should make the MSEA a valuable tool for investigating neuronal circuits.

Imaging fictive locomotor patterns in larval Drosophila

We have established a preparation in larval Drosophila to monitor fictive locomotion simultaneously across abdominal and thoracic segments of the isolated CNS with genetically encoded Ca²⁺ indicators. The Ca²⁺ signals closely followed spiking activity measured electrophysiologically in nerve roots. Three motor patterns are analyzed. Two comprise waves of Ca²⁺ signals that progress along the longitudinal body axis in a posterior-to-anterior or anterior-to-posterior direction. These waves had statistically indistinguishable intersegmental phase delays compared with segmental contractions during forward and backward crawling behavior, despite being ∼10 times slower. During these waves, motor neurons of the dorsal longitudinal and transverse muscles were active in the same order as the muscle groups are recruited during crawling behavior. A third fictive motor pattern exhibits a left-right asymmetry across segments and bears similarities with turning behavior in intact larvae, occurring equally frequently and involving asymmetry in the same segments. Ablation of the segments in which forward and backward waves of Ca²⁺ signals were normally initiated did not eliminate production of Ca²⁺ waves. When the brain and subesophageal ganglion (SOG) were removed, the remaining ganglia retained the ability to produce both forward and backward waves of motor activity, although the speed and frequency of waves changed. Bilateral asymmetry of activity was reduced when the brain was removed and abolished when the SOG was removed. This work paves the way to studying the neural and genetic underpinnings of segmentally coordinated motor pattern generation in Drosophila with imaging techniques.

Monitoring Spiking Activity of Many Individual Neurons in Invertebrate Ganglia

Optical recording with fast voltage sensitive dyes makes it possible, in suitable preparations, to simultaneously monitor the action potentials of large numbers of individual neurons. Here we describe methods for doing this, including considerations of different dyes and imaging systems, methods for correlating the optical signals with their source neurons, procedures for getting good signals, and the use of Independent Component Analysis for spike-sorting raw optical data into single neuron traces. These combined tools represent a powerful approach for large-scale recording of neural networks with high temporal and spatial resolution.

Monitoring Integrated Activity of Individual Neurons Using FRET-Based Voltage-Sensitive Dyes

Pairs of membrane-associated molecules exhibiting fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) provide a sensitive technique to measure changes in a cell's membrane potential. One of the FRET pair binds to one surface of the membrane and the other is a mobile ion that dissolves in the lipid bilayer. The voltage-related signal can be measured as a change in the fluorescence of either the donor or acceptor molecules, but measuring their ratio provides the largest and most noise-free signal. This technology has been used in a variety of ways; three are documented in this chapter: (1) high throughput drug screening, (2) monitoring the activity of many neurons simultaneously during a behavior, and (3) finding synaptic targets of a stimulated neuron. In addition, we provide protocols for using the dyes on both cultured neurons and leech ganglia. We also give an updated description of the mathematical basis for measuring the coherence between electrical and optical signals. Future improvements of this technique include faster and more sensitive dyes that bleach more slowly, and the expression of one of the FRET pair genetically.

Recent developments in VSD imaging of small neuronal networks

Voltage-sensitive dye (VSD) imaging is a powerful technique that can provide, in single experiments, a large-scale view of network activity unobtainable with traditional sharp electrode recording methods. Here we review recent work using VSDs to study small networks and highlight several results from this approach. Topics covered include circuit mapping, network multifunctionality, the network basis of decision making, and the presence of variably participating neurons in networks. Analytical tools being developed and applied to large-scale VSD imaging data sets are discussed, and the future prospects for this exciting field are considered.

Spectral methods for functional brain imaging

Dynamic functional imaging experiments typically generate large, multivariate data sets that contain considerable spatial and temporal complexity. The goal of this introduction is to present signal-processing techniques that allow the underlying spatiotemporal structure to be readily distilled and that also enable signal versus noise contributions to be separated.

Positive feedback loops sustain repeating bursts in neuronal circuits

Voluntary movements in animals are often episodic, with abrupt onset and termination. Elevated neuronal excitation is required to drive the neuronal circuits underlying such movements; however, the mechanisms that sustain this increased excitation are largely unknown. In the medicinal leech, an identified cascade of excitation has been traced from mechanosensory neurons to the swim oscillator circuit. Although this cascade explains the initiation of excitatory drive (and hence swim initiation), it cannot account for the prolonged excitation (10-100 s) that underlies swim episodes. We present results of physiological and theoretical investigations into the mechanisms that maintain swimming activity in the leech. Although intrasegmental mechanisms can prolong stimulus-evoked excitation for more than one second, maintained excitation and sustained swimming activity requires chains of several ganglia. Experimental and modeling studies suggest that mutually excitatory intersegmental interactions can drive bouts of swimming activity in leeches. Our model neuronal circuits, which incorporated mutually excitatory neurons whose activity was limited by impulse adaptation, also replicated the following major experimental findings: (1) swimming can be initiated and terminated by a single neuron, (2) swim duration decreases with experimental reduction in nerve cord length, and (3) swim duration decreases as the interval between swim episodes is reduced.

Optically monitoring voltage in neurons by photo-induced electron transfer through molecular wires

Fluorescence imaging is an attractive method for monitoring neuronal activity. A key challenge for optically monitoring voltage is development of sensors that can give large and fast responses to changes in transmembrane potential. We now present fluorescent sensors that detect voltage changes in neurons by modulation of photo-induced electron transfer (PeT) from an electron donor through a synthetic molecular wire to a fluorophore. These dyes give bigger responses to voltage than electrochromic dyes, yet have much faster kinetics and much less added capacitance than existing sensors based on hydrophobic anions or voltage-sensitive ion channels. These features enable single-trial detection of synaptic and action potentials in cultured hippocampal neurons and intact leech ganglia. Voltage-dependent PeT should be amenable to much further optimization, but the existing probes are already valuable indicators of neuronal activity.

Neuronal control of swimming behavior: comparison of vertebrate and invertebrate model systems

Swimming movements in the leech and lamprey are highly analogous, and lack homology. Thus, similarities in mechanisms must arise from convergent evolution rather than from common ancestry. Despite over 40 years of parallel investigations into this annelid and primitive vertebrate, a close comparison of the approaches and results of this research is lacking. The present review evaluates the neural mechanisms underlying swimming in these two animals and describes the many similarities that provide intriguing examples of convergent evolution. Specifically, we discuss swim initiation, maintenance and termination, isolated nervous system preparations, neural-circuitry, central oscillators, intersegmental coupling, phase lags, cycle periods and sensory feedback. Comparative studies between species highlight mechanisms that optimize behavior and allow us a broader understanding of nervous system function.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of rhythmic spinal interneurons measured with two-photon calcium imaging and coherence analysis

In rhythmic neural circuits, a neuron often fires action potentials with a constant phase to the rhythm, a timing relationship that can be functionally significant. To characterize these phase preferences in a large-scale, cell type-specific manner, we adapted multitaper coherence analysis for two-photon calcium imaging. Analysis of simulated data showed that coherence is a simple and robust measure of rhythmicity for calcium imaging data. When applied to the neonatal mouse hindlimb spinal locomotor network, the phase relationships between peak activity of >1,000 ventral spinal interneurons and motor output were characterized. Most interneurons showed rhythmic activity that was coherent and in phase with the ipsilateral motor output during fictive locomotion. The phase distributions of two genetically identified classes of interneurons were distinct from the ensemble population and from each other. There was no obvious spatial clustering of interneurons with similar phase preferences. Together, these results suggest that cell type, not neighboring neuron activity, is a better indicator of an interneuron's response during fictive locomotion. The ability to measure the phase preferences of many neurons with cell type and spatial information should be widely applicable for studying other rhythmic neural circuits.

Validation of independent component analysis for rapid spike sorting of optical recording data

Independent component analysis (ICA) is a technique that can be used to extract the source signals from sets of signal mixtures where the sources themselves are unknown. The analysis of optical recordings of invertebrate neuronal networks with fast voltage-sensitive dyes could benefit greatly from ICA. These experiments can generate hundreds of voltage traces containing both redundant and mixed recordings of action potentials originating from unknown numbers of neurons. ICA can be used as a method for converting such complex data sets into single-neuron traces, but its accuracy for doing so has never been empirically evaluated. Here, we tested the accuracy of ICA for such blind source separation by simultaneously performing sharp electrode intracellular recording and fast voltage-sensitive dye imaging of neurons located in the central ganglia of Tritonia diomedea and Aplysia californica, using a 464-element photodiode array. After running ICA on the optical data sets, we found that in 34 of 34 cases the intracellularly recorded action potentials corresponded 100% to the spiking activity of one of the independent components returned by ICA. We also show that ICA can accurately sort action potentials into single neuron traces from a series of optical data files obtained at different times from the same preparation, allowing one to monitor the network participation of large numbers of individually identifiable neurons over several recording episodes. Our validation of the accuracy of ICA for extracting the neural activity of many individual neurons from noisy, mixed, and redundant optical recording data sets should enable the use of this powerful large-scale imaging approach for studies of invertebrate and suitable vertebrate neuronal networks.

A hormone-activated central pattern generator for courtship

BACKGROUND

Medicinal leeches (Hirudo spp.) are simultaneous hermaphrodites. Mating occurs after a stereotyped twisting and oral exploration that result in the alignment of the male and/or female gonopores of one leech with the complementary gonopores of a partner. The neural basis of this behavior is presently unknown and currently impossible to study directly because electrophysiological recording techniques disrupt the behavior.

RESULTS

Here we report that (Arg(8))-conopressin G and two other members of the oxytocin/vasopressin family of peptide hormones induce in Hirudo verbana a sequence of behaviors that closely mimic elements of spontaneous reproductive behavior. Through a series of progressively more reduced preparations, we show that one of these behaviors, a stereotyped twisting that is instrumental in aligning gonopores in preparation for copulation, is the product of a central pattern generator that consists of oscillators in ganglia M5 and M6 (the ganglia in the reproductive segments of the leech), and also in ganglion M4, which was not previously known to play a role in reproductive behavior. We find that the behavior is periodic, with a remarkably long cycle period of around five minutes, placing it among the slowest behavioral rhythms (other than diurnal and annual rhythms) yet described.

CONCLUSION

These results establish the leech as a new model system for studying aspects of the neuronal basis of reproductive behavior.

From synapses to behavior: development of a sensory-motor circuit in the leech

The development of neuronal circuits has been advanced greatly by the use of imaging techniques that reveal the activity of neurons during the period when they are constructing synapses and forming circuits. This review focuses on experiments performed in leech embryos to characterize the development of a neuronal circuit that produces a simple segmental behavior called "local bending." The experiments combined electrophysiology, anatomy, and FRET-based voltage-sensitive dyes (VSDs). The VSDs offered two major advantages in these experiments: they allowed us to record simultaneously the activity of many neurons, and unlike other imaging techniques, they revealed inhibition as well as excitation. The results indicated that connections within the circuit are formed in a predictable sequence: initially neurons in the circuit are connected by electrical synapses, forming a network that itself generates an embryonic behavior and prefigures the adult circuit; later chemical synapses, including inhibitory connections, appear, "sculpting" the circuit to generate a different, mature behavior. In this developmental process, some of the electrical connections are completely replaced by chemical synapses, others are maintained into adulthood, and still others persist and share their targets with chemical synaptic connections.

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.

Cellular substrates of action selection: a cluster of higher-order descending neurons shapes body posture and locomotion

The selection of distinct movements involved in various body postures and locomotion is often dependent on higher-order descending neurons. To study how such cells select different actions, we used a nearly-intact leech preparation (Hirudo sp.) in which cephalic projection interneurons were recorded and stimulated while the leech generated overt behaviors. Two long-distance projecting neurons were identified in the sub-packet of the third neuromere (R3b) of the subesophageal ganglion. These interneurons, named R3b2 and R3b3, produced changes in whole-body posture, crawling and swimming. Cell R3b2 reliably caused the body to become turgid, to hyper-elongate, and to thrash cyclically. Such robust activity resembled struggling behavior exhibited by intact leeches when grasped. The neighboring cell R3b3 elicited body elongation accompanied by a static whole-body bend to the left or right. R3b3 activity was context-dependent, oscillated in phase with crawling, reset the crawl rhythm, and terminated swimming. Both neuronal types responded to multi-modal sensory stimulation delivered to various rostral and caudal regions of the body. Our study illustrates the need to study behavioral selection with a neuroethological approach, and provides a cellular substrate for the motor action-selection cluster proposed for the vertebrate brainstem.

A stereo-compound hybrid microscope for combined intracellular and optical recording of invertebrate neural network activity

Optical recording studies of invertebrate neural networks with voltage-sensitive dyes seldom employ conventional intracellular electrodes. This may in part be due to the traditional reliance on compound microscopes for such work. While such microscopes have high light-gathering power, they do not provide depth of field, making working with sharp electrodes difficult. Here we describe a hybrid microscope design, with switchable compound and stereo objectives, that eases the use of conventional intracellular electrodes in optical recording experiments. We use it, in combination with a voltage-sensitive dye and photodiode array, to identify neurons participating in the swim motor program of the marine mollusk Tritonia. This microscope design should be applicable to optical recording studies in many preparations.

Beyond the central pattern generator: amine modulation of decision-making neural pathways descending from the brain of the medicinal leech

The biological mechanisms of behavioral selection, as it relates to locomotion, are far from understood, even in relatively simple invertebrate animals. In the medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, the decision to swim is distributed across populations of swim-activating and swim-inactivating neurons descending from the subesophageal ganglion of the compound cephalic ganglion, i.e. the brain. In the present study, we demonstrate that the serotonergic LL and Retzius cells in the brain are excited by swim-initiating stimuli and during spontaneous swim episodes. This activity likely influences or resets the neuromodulatory state of neural circuits involved in the activation or subsequent termination of locomotion. When serotonin (5-HT) was perfused over the brain, multi-unit recordings from descending brain neurons revealed rapid and substantial alterations. Subsequent intracellular recordings from identified command-like brain interneurons demonstrated that 5-HT, especially in combination with octopamine, inhibited swim-triggering neuron Tr1, as well as swim-inactivating neurons Tr2 and SIN1. Although 5-HT inhibited elements of the swim-inactivation pathway, rather than promoting them, the indirect and net effect of the amine was a reliable and sustained reduction in the firing of the segmental swim-gating neuron 204. This modulation caused cell 204 to relinquish its excitatory drive to the swim central pattern generator. The activation pattern of serotonergic brain neurons that we observed during swimming and the 5-HT-immunoreactive staining pattern obtained, suggest that within the head brain 5-HT secretion is massive. Over time, 5-HT secretion may provide a homeostatic feedback mechanism to limit swimming activity at the level of the head brain.

Functions of the subesophageal ganglion in the medicinal leech revealed by ablation of neuromeres in embryos

Two general trends in the evolution of the nervous system have been toward centralization of neuronal somata and cephalization of the central nervous system (CNS). These organizational trends are apparent in the nervous system of annelid worms, including leeches. To determine if the anterior brain of the leech serves functions similar to those of the brains of more complex organisms, including vertebrates, we ablated one of the two major regions of the cephalic brain--the subesophageal ganglion (SubEG). For anatomical reasons, ablations were performed in embryos, rather than in adults. At the end of embryonic development, we observed the leeches' spontaneous behaviour and their responses to moderate touch. We observed that, although the midbody ganglia of the leech CNS display a high degree of local autonomy, the cephalic brain provides generalized excitation to the rest of the CNS, is a source of selective inhibition that modulates behaviour, integrates sensory information from the head with signals from the rest of the body, and plays an important role in organizing at least some complicated whole-body behaviours. These roles of the leech cephalic brain are common features of brain function in many organisms, and our results are consistent with the hypothesis that they arose early in evolution and have been conserved in complex nervous systems.

Invertebrate central pattern generation moves along

Central pattern generators (CPGs) are circuits that generate organized and repetitive motor patterns, such as those underlying feeding, locomotion and respiration. We summarize recent work on invertebrate CPGs which has provided new insights into how rhythmic motor patterns are produced and how they are controlled by higher-order command and modulatory interneurons.

Extracellular matrix glycoproteins inhibit neurite outgrowth of different types of identified leech neurons in culture

We explored the contribution of inhibitory peanut-binding extracellular matrix glycoproteins to the regeneration of characteristic outgrowth patterns by different types of identified neurons. Adult leech neurons were isolated one by one and plated in culture on a substrate that consisted of the capsules that encase the CNS ganglia. On the inside surface of this substrate, a combination of growth-promoting and -inhibiting extracellular matrix glycoproteins regulates the regeneration of distinctive outgrowth patterns by different neuron types. The role of inhibitory glycoproteins that bind to peanut lectin was studied by perturbation experiments in which peanut lectin was added to the culture medium. The effects of peanut lectin on the outgrowth patterns depended on the specific cell type that was tested. Anterior pagoda neurons, which on capsules produce a bipolar outgrowth pattern, in the presence of the lectin multiplied the number of primary neurites and the total neurite length and also lost their bipolarity. Annulus erector motoneurons, which on capsules grow poorly, in the presence of peanut lectin sprouted 70% more neurites and duplicated their total neurite length. By contrast, Retzius neurons which grow profusely on ganglion capsules, in the presence of peanut lectin increased the number of primary neurites without increasing their total neurite length or branch points. When neurons were plated on plastic, peanut lectin added to the culture medium did not affect the growth of neurons, thus showing that the effects of peanut lectin were induced by blocking the binding of neurons to inhibitory glycoproteins on the capsules. These results show that regeneration of different neuron types has different regulation by inhibitory extracellular matrix molecules.

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.

Snail peptide expression pattern in the nervous system of the medicinal leech

Distribution of neurons immunopositive to antibodies against the "command neuron peptides" (CNPs) encoded by the snail Helix Command-Specific 2 (HCS2) gene was investigated in the nervous system of medicinal leech Hirudo. Immunopositive neurons were found in the leech segmental ganglia, brain and tail ganglionic masses, and peripheral ganglia. The CNPs immunopositive fibers were observed in neuropils of all ganglia and in some nerves. The role of CNPs immunopositive cells in animal behavior and the putative functions of the CNPs neuropeptide family are discussed.

A dye mixture (Neurobiotin and Alexa 488) reveals extensive dye-coupling among neurons in leeches; physiology confirms the connections

Although the neuronal circuits that generate leech movements have been studied for over 30 years, the list of interneurons (INs) in these circuits remains incomplete. Previous studies showed that some motor neurons (MNs) are electrically coupled to swim-related INs, e.g., rectifying junctions connect IN 28 to MN DI-1 (dorsal inhibitor), so we searched for additional neurons in these behavioral circuits by co-injecting Neurobiotin and Alexa Fluor 488 into segmental MNs DI-1, VI-2, DE-3 and VE-4. The high molecular weight Alexa dye is confined to the injected cell, whereas the smaller Neurobiotin molecules diffuse through gap junctions to reveal electrical coupling. We found that MNs were each dye-coupled to approximately 25 neurons, about half of which are likely to be INs. We also found that (1) dye-coupling was reliably correlated with physiologically confirmed electrical connections, (2) dye-coupling is unidirectional between MNs that are linked by rectifying connections, and (3) there are novel electrical connections between excitatory and inhibitory MNs, e.g. between excitatory MN VE-4 and inhibitory MN DI-1. The INs found in this study provide a pool of novel candidate neurons for future studies of behavioral circuits, including those underlying swimming, crawling, shortening, and bending movements.

FRET-based voltage probes for confocal imaging: membrane potential oscillations throughout pancreatic islets

Insulin secretion is dependent on coordinated pancreatic islet physiology. In the present study, we found a way to overcome the limitations of cellular electrophysiology to optically determine cell membrane potential ( Vm) throughout an islet by using a fast voltage optical dye pair. Using laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM), we observed fluorescence (Förster) resonance energy transfer (FRET) with the fluorescent donor N-(6-chloro-7-hydroxycoumarin-3-carbonyl)-dimyristoylphosphatidyl-ethanolamine and the acceptor bis-(1,3-diethylthiobarbiturate) trimethine oxonol in the plasma membrane of essentially every cell within an islet. The FRET signal was approximately linear from Vm−70 to +50 mV with a 2.5-fold change in amplitude. We evaluated the responses of islet cells to glucose and tetraethylammonium. Essentially, every responding cell in a mouse islet displayed similar time-dependent changes in Vm. When Vmwas measured simultaneously with intracellular Ca2+, all active cells showed tight coupling of Vmto islet cell Ca2+changes. Our findings indicate that FRET-based, voltage-sensitive dyes used in conjunction with LSCM imaging could be extremely useful in studies of excitation-secretion coupling in intact islets of Langerhans.

Optical imaging of neuronal populations during decision-making

We investigated decision-making in the leech nervous system by stimulating identical sensory inputs that sometimes elicit crawling and other times swimming. Neuronal populations were monitored with voltage-sensitive dyes after each stimulus. By quantifying the discrimination time of each neuron, we found single neurons that discriminate before the two behaviors are evident. We used principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis to find populations of neurons that discriminated earlier than any single neuron. The analysis highlighted the neuron cell 208. Hyperpolarizing cell 208 during a stimulus biases the leech to swim; depolarizing it biases the leech to crawl or to delay swimming.

A cephalic projection neuron involved in locomotion is dye coupled to the dopaminergic neural network in the medicinal leech

It is widely appreciated that the selection and modulation of locomotor circuits are dependent on the actions of higher-order projection neurons. In the leech, Hirudo medicinalis, locomotion is modulated by a number of cephalic projection neurons that descend from the subesophageal ganglion in the head. Specifically, descending brain interneuron Tr2 functions as a command-like neuron that can terminate or sometimes trigger fictive swimming. In this study, we demonstrate that Tr2 is dye coupled to the dopaminergic neural network distributed in the head brain. These findings represent the first anatomical evidence in support of dopamine (DA) playing a role in the modulation of locomotion in the leech. In addition, we have determined that bath application of DA to the brain and entire nerve cord reliably and rapidly terminates swimming in all preparations exhibiting fictive swimming. By contrast, DA application to nerve cords expressing ongoing fictive crawling does not inhibit this motor rhythm. Furthermore, we show that Tr2 receives rhythmic feedback from the crawl central pattern generator. For example, Tr2 receives inhibitory post-synaptic potentials during the elongation phase of each crawl cycle. When crawling is not expressed, spontaneous inhibitory post-synaptic potentials in Tr2 correlate in time with spontaneous excitatory post-synaptic potentials in the CV motor neuron, a circular muscle excitor that bursts during the elongation phase of crawling. Our data are consistent with the idea that DA biases the nervous system to produce locomotion in the form of crawling.

Mechanisms of behavioral switching

No animal performs only one behavior, so nervous systems must have ways to switch between different behaviors. In this issue of Journal of Comparative Physiology A, several papers discuss how nervous systems achieve this ordered switching between behaviors, from short-term motor control problems, to medium-term decision making based on past experience, to long-term modulation and selection of overall behavioral strategies, such as dominance versus subordinance.

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.