1988 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Exploratory study on the future research strategies and concepts for experimental analyses of animal behavior mechanisms: a comparative approach
| Project/Area Number |
61304006
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Co-operative Research (A)
|
| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
|---|
| Research Field |
動物発生・生理学
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Hokkaido University |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
HISADA Mituhiko Hokkaido University, 理学部, 教授 (70000768)
|
|---|
| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
TATEDA Hideki Kyushu University, 理学部, 教授 (10037179)
YAMAGUCHI Tsuneo Okayama University, 理学部, 教授 (60000816)
SHIBUYA Tatuaki Tsukuba University, 生物科学, 教授 (00015512)
OKAJIMA Akira Yamaguchi University, 教養部, 教授 (50045944)
UEDA Kazuo Kyouritu Women's College, 教授 (60011441)
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
1986 – 1988
|
| Keywords | Neuroethology / animal behavior / central nervous system / sensory processing / 神経伝達物質 |
|---|
| Research Abstract |
The research strategles the future study of the central nervous mechanisms underlying the animal behavior have been explored in a group of 12 neuroethologists whose backgrounds covered biochemistry, genetics, physiology, ethology and zoology. Consequently, both the experimental systems and the applied methods in their neuroethological research were so divergent that the results of individual researches might seem to be quite indifferent to each other. However,through extensive discussions at the group meetings held twice in the 3-year period of this research project, some common conclusions have emerged.
(1) Intensive analysis of the neuronal circuits subserving several well-defined behavioral acts using the electrophysiological, neuroanatomical and genetical methods revealed that, while most of the newly found connections were consistent with the previous knowledge, not a few connectionw were also found which were inconsistent with the previous one. A number of newly found neuronal elements have been also encountered in the course of their study. The functional significance of these neurons is yet to be clarified in the future study. New viewpoints of the central integration of multimodal sensory information and the coordinative control of functionally related motor outputs might be the leading concept for these newly found inconsistency in neuronal connections.
(2) Biogenic amines and peptides were found to modulate the action of neurotransmitters both at the neuromuscular junctions at the control synapses. In some cases, however, it is difficult to relate their action with the behavioral and physiological observation. These substances certainly play important roles in the behavioral control, but in order to understand their actual function, further study is needed on their action upon the neural circuit operation not only at the circuit level but also at the cellular levels.
|
