EGG-LAYING HORMONE INHIBITS A NEURON (C-PR) INVOLVED IN MULTIPLE MANIFESTATIONS OF FOOD-INDUCED AROUSAL IN APLYSIA

Egg laying behavior is known to suppress feeding in Aplysia, but both behaviors have common responses involving head movements and posture. Egg laying hormone (ELH) applied in vitro to the isolated nervous system of Aplysia reduces the spontaneous and the evoked activity of the C-PR, a neuron implicated in postural responses during feeding. The inhibitory effect of ELH on the C-PR appears to be mediated by interneurons primarily located in the pedal/pleural ganglia, which contain all the known direct follower cells of the C-PR. Our results do not support the idea that postural responses during feeding and egg laying are mediated by the activation of a common arousal element, the C-PR. In fact, the C-PR seems to be a specific element for the food-arousal state, and the inhibition of the C-PR by ELH may contribute to the suppression of appetitive feeding responses during egg laying.