Organelle calcium-derived voltage oscillations in pacemaker neurons drive the motor program for food-seeking behavior in Aplysia
Abstract
The expression of motivated behaviors depends on both external and internally-arising neural stimuli, yet the intrinsic releasing mechanisms for such variably occurring behaviors remain elusive. In isolated nervous system preparations of Aplysia, we have found that irregularly expressed cycles of motor output underlying food-seeking behavior arise from regular membrane potential oscillations of varying magnitude in an identified pair of interneurons (B63) in the bilateral buccal ganglia. This rhythmic signal, which is specific to the B63 cells, is generated by organelle-derived intracellular calcium fluxes that activate voltage-independent plasma membrane channels. The resulting voltage oscillation spreads throughout a subset of gap junction-coupled buccal network neurons and by triggering plateau potential-mediated bursts in B63, can initiate motor output driving food-seeking action. Thus, an atypical neuronal pacemaker mechanism, based on rhythmic intracellular calcium store release and intercellular propagation, can act as an autonomous intrinsic releaser for the occurrence of a motivated behavior.
Data availability
Source data file have been provided for Figures 2,3,10:Bédécarrats, Alexis et al. (2021), Organelle calcium-derived voltage oscillations in pacemaker neurons drive the motor program for food-seeking behavior in Aplysia, Dryad, Dataset, https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.pvmcvdnkr
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Data from: Organelle calcium-derived voltage oscillations in pacemaker neurons drive the motor program for food-seeking behavior in AplysiaDryad Digital Repository, doi:10.5061/dryad.pvmcvdnkr.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-13-BV5-0014-01)
- Romuald Nargeot
Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-10-Idex-03-02)
- Alexis Bédécarrats
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Copyright
© 2021, Bédécarrats et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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