Navigation Links
Caltech and UCSD scientists establish leech as model for study of reproductive behavior
Date:3/16/2010

nervous system responsible for generating the mating behavior. "One of the attractions of the lower invertebrates is that you can literally cut them in pieces, and each of the pieces will more or less keep performing the function it would have performed in the whole animal," Wagenaar explains.

"We started out studying the behavior of whole animals that we simply injected with the hormone. Then we cut leeches in thirds and injected each part with hormone, and found that the hormone acted only in the central part, which contains the reproductive organs. We then cut open that central part and stretched out the skin so we could study in more detail the muscle contractions underlying the behavior of the whole animal."

"Finally," he says, "we removed the body entirely, keeping just the nervous system, and found that even the disembodied central nervous system"in particular, the ganglia (clusters of nerve cell bodies) located in the reproductive segments of the leech"produced the appropriate nerve signals to generate the pattern of muscle activity we had observed."

"Our next project will be to use voltage-sensitive dyes to record signals from a large fraction of all the neurons in the reproductive ganglia, to find which ones contribute to generating and maintaining the behavior," he adds.

Wagenaar and his colleagues believe these studies establish the leech as a new model system for studying how hormones act on the nervous system to produce mating behavior, and for deciphering the specific neural circuits that control the behavior.

"The knowledge gained from these studies," adds study coauthor Kathleen French of UCSD, "is expected to shed new light on the interactions of hormones and neurons in controlling courtship and reproductive behavior in a wide variety of sexually reproducing species, from the lowly leech to humans in a singles bar."


'/>"/>

Contact: Kathy Svitil
ksvitil@caltech.edu
626-395-8022
California Institute of Technology
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Caltech receives more than $33 million from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
2. Caltech researchers presenting at AAAS Meeting
3. Caltech researchers obtain first brain recordings from behaving fruit flies
4. Caltech neuroscientists discover brain area responsible for fear of losing money
5. Caltech scientists find emotion-like behaviors, regulated by dopamine, in fruit flies
6. Caltech researchers show efficacy of gene therapy in mouse models of Huntingtons disease
7. Caltech scientists create robot surrogate for blind persons in testing visual prostheses
8. Caltech scientists get detailed glimpse of chemoreceptor architecture in bacterial cells
9. Caltech neuroscientists find brain region responsible for our sense of personal space
10. Caltech researchers explore how cells reconcile mixed messages in decisions about growth
11. Caltech scientists reveal how neuronal activity is timed in brains memory-making circuits
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:5/20/2013)... the lungs of the planet, inhales carbon dioxide as it ... grow parts that eventually fall to the ground to decompose ... , Until recently people believed much of the rain forest,s ... in the ocean. University of Washington research showed a decade ... though left open the question of how that was possible, ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... Geology articles posted online ahead of ... wide swath of geoscience subdisciplines, including minerals exploration, ... Locations studied include Siberia; the Sumatran subduction margin; ... Ukraine; Mars; and the Southeastern U.S. Atlantic Margin. ... and plate tectonics;, 2. The clear fingerprint of ...
(Date:5/18/2013)... 18, 2013) Research presented today at Digestive Disease ... with findings about the impact of coffee on autoimmune ... While coffee consumption recently has been associated with reduced ... a few more cups of java each month also ... disease. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, linked ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Amazon River exhales virtually all carbon taken up by rain forest 2Amazon River exhales virtually all carbon taken up by rain forest 3New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 2New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 3New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 4New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 5New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 6New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 7New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 8New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 9New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 10New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 11Coffee consumption associated with reduced risk of autoimmune liver disease 2
... London researchers that features the chemical components found in ... month, allowing researchers to explore age-old remedies in the ... to Tim Tec LLC, a US-based life science company, ... kind. Featuring over 12,000 chemicals found in plants used ...
... National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., ... the new director of the National Institute of General Medical ... head of the Department of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute ... the spring of 2012. "Dr. Kaiser has tremendous energy ...
... Young adults who were born prematurely show multiple biological ... London has found. The scientists, reporting their findings tomorrow in ... indicates that urgent work is now needed to monitor preterm ... of disease. The study of 48 volunteers aged 18-27 ...
Cached Biology News:21st century database of traditional Chinese medicine released 2Cell biologist Chris A. Kaiser to lead NIH's National Institute of General Medical Sciences 2Cell biologist Chris A. Kaiser to lead NIH's National Institute of General Medical Sciences 3Premature babies at risk of ill health in later life, research suggests 2
(Date:5/21/2013)... 21, 2013 Emerson Resources Inc. ... Dr. Charles Signorino, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and ... after 32 years of service. As part of Emerson ... President, has been named as Dr. Signorino’s successor. ... pharmaceutical industry, having made a significant contribution to the ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... May 21, 2013 Bed bugs have become ... My Cleaning Products, many turn to chemical-based pesticides for help ... health and environmental risks those solutions present, the company advised ... Bug Bully instead. , According to My Cleaning Products, ... they used to be. It shared that the pests have ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... 2013 Vital Imaging ™ has ... California, San Diego for a joint study which aims ... (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) with that of a supine Dynawell ... pursuit of improved healthcare by combining cutting edge technology ... extremely valuable tool for evaluating pathological changes in the ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... MN (PRWEB) May 21, 2013 The ... show display solution for sales and marketing teams looking for ... describes the kit as “everything you’ll need to put ... Fabric Display Kit comes with a number of displays and ... trade booth 20 feet by 20 feet in size. These ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Emerson Resources Announces CEO Retirement and Appointment of Successor 2Emerson Resources Announces CEO Retirement and Appointment of Successor 3New Guide to Kill Bed Bugs Published by My Cleaning Products, Company Enumerates Non-Toxic Means to Clear the Pests 2New Guide to Kill Bed Bugs Published by My Cleaning Products, Company Enumerates Non-Toxic Means to Clear the Pests 3Vital Imaging Makes Greater Commitment into MRI Research 2Vital Imaging Makes Greater Commitment into MRI Research 3GLM Displays Announces All-in-One Formulate Fusion Fabric Display Kit 2
... ... a new Web 2.0 Website in an effort to not only provide circuit board assembly ... ... provide more value to their current and future customers Surface Mount Solutions (SMS) has launched ...
... Aug. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Spectral Diagnostics Inc. (TSX:SDI, a ... announced the appointment of Dr. Michael Cross to the ... of Investments at GrowthWorks Capital, one of Canada,s leading ... a valuable addition to the Board, bringing experience from ...
... , COLUMBIA, Md. Aug. 13 Martek Biosciences ... has entered into a multi-year sole-source supply agreement with Puleva ... formulas produced by Puleva and sold in Spain. Puleva ... , , "Our partnership with Puleva further ...
Cached Biology Technology:Surface Mount Solutions Launches New Website 2Spectral appoints new board member 2Martek Signs Sole-Source ARA Supply Agreement with Puleva Food S.L. 2Martek Signs Sole-Source ARA Supply Agreement with Puleva Food S.L. 3
... Conjugate, 2 ml. Streptavidin ... molecules for use in ... hybridization applications.High specificity reagents. ... & Detection, Protein Labeling ...
...
... Cell Dissociation Buffers are membrane-filtered isotonic ... chelating agents and cell-conditioning agents in ... salt solution or Ca2+- and ... of mammalian cells from support substrates ...
... Cell Dissociation Buffers are membrane-filtered ... salts chelating agents and cell-conditioning agents ... balanced salt solution or Ca2+- ... dissociation of mammalian cells from support ...
Biology Products: