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A Common Presynaptic Locus for the Synaptic Changes Underlying Short-term Habituation and Sensitization of the Gill-withdrawal Reflex in Aplysia
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1976
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Synaptic TransmissionNeurotransmitterBasic NeuroscienceNeurotransmissionCellular NeurobiologySensory SystemsSocial SciencesCommon Presynaptic LocusNeural MechanismMany Nerve CellsGill-withdrawal ReflexBehavioral NeuroscienceMedicineAnimal NeurophysiologyInvertebrate VisionNeuroecologyNervous SystemBiologySynaptic PlasticityNeurobiological MechanismDevelopmental BiologyNeural ScienceNeurophysiologyNeuroanatomyPhysiologyNeuroscienceCentral Nervous SystemCentral Nervous System BiologyCellular LevelMammalian Motor SystemAnimal BehaviorNervous SystemsComparative Physiology
It has recently become possible to study simple forms of behavior on a cellular level in certain higher invertebrates (Willows 1968; Kennedy et al. 1969; Krasne 1969; Kupfermann and Kandel 1969; Nicholls and Purves 1970; Zucker 1972; Kater and Frazier Rowell 1973; Kristan and Stent, this volume). The nervous systems of these animals (such as leeches, crayfish and opisthobranch molluscs) contain only about 106 cells, in contrast to the 1012 cells that make up the nervous systems of vertebrates. In fact, individual invertebrate ganglia containing only 1000–2000 cells can mediate several behavioral responses so that a single behavior may be controlled by a few hundred cells or even less. The nervous systems of these invertebrates are also advantageous because many nerve cells are large (100–1000 µm in diameter). Furthermore, some of these cells are so distinctive in position, appearance and physiological properties that they can be repeatedly identified in every...