2012 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Comparative physiology of morphology and function of the enteric nervous system.
| Project/Area Number |
21570080
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Animal physiology/Animal behavior
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| Research Institution | Tokyo Metropolitan University |
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Principal Investigator |
KUROKAWA Makoto 首都大学東京, 大学院・理工学研究科, 准教授 (50211222)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2009 – 2012
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| Keywords | 消化管神経系 / 末梢神経系 / 消化管運動 / ペースメーカー / アメフラシ / 比較生理学 |
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| Research Abstract |
In a wide variety of animals, the enteric nervous system (ENS) consists of a network of neurons intrinsic to the gastrointestinal tract. In this study, we compared the structure and function of the ENS among animals beyond phylum: sea snail and pond snailfrom mollusks, shrimps and isopod from arthropods, and sea-cucumbers from echinoderms. In most of animals, ENS neurons exhibited autonomous periodic-burst activity. Simultaneous recording of neuronal activities and movements of the gastrointestinal tract revealed that only in mollusks, but not in arthropods nor echinoderms, the periodic bursts were followed by peristaltic movements. This observation shows that the ENS in mollusks contains pacemaker neurons responsible for the neurogenic rhythmicity of peristalsis. In other animals, the rhythmicity of the gut motility originated in the myogenic pacemaker. The "pacemaker region" was localized differently among related species due to the structural differences of the gastrointestinal tract. For example, Bursatella shared common characteristics with Lymnaea rather than Aplysia, even though the latter species is more closely related to Bursatella.
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