Journal
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY A-NEUROETHOLOGY SENSORY NEURAL AND BEHAVIORAL PHYSIOLOGY
Volume 195, Issue 11, Pages 1031-1041Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s00359-009-0477-9
Keywords
Cupiennius salei; Compound slit sense organ; Vibration receptor; Current clamp recording; Courtship vibrations
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Funding
- Austrian Science Fund FWF [P16348]
- Austrian Science Fund (FWF) [P16348] Funding Source: Austrian Science Fund (FWF)
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The metatarsal lyriform organ of the spider Cupiennius salei is a vibration detector consisting of 21 cuticular slits supplied by two sensory cells each, one ending in the outer and the other at the inner slit membrane. In search of functional differences between the two cell types due to differences in stimulus transmission, we analyzed (1) the adaptation of responses to electrical stimulation, (2) the thresholds for mechanical stimulation and (3) the representation of male courtship vibrations using intracellular recording and staining techniques. Single-and multi-spiking receptor neurons were found among both cell types, which showed high-pass filter characteristics. Below 100-Hz threshold, tarsal deflections were between 1 degrees and 10 degrees. At higher frequencies, they decreased down to values as small as 0.05 degrees, corresponding to 4.5-nm tarsal deflection in the most sensitive cases. Different slits in the organ and receptor cells with slow or fast adaptation did not differ in this regard. When stimulated with male courtship vibrations, both types of receptor cells again did not differ significantly regarding number of action potentials, latency and synchronization coefficients. Surprisingly, the differences in dendrite coupling were not reflected by the physiological responses of the two cell types innervating the slits.
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