Neuronal correlates of the visually elicited escape response of the crab Chasmagnathus upon seasonal variations, stimuli changes and perceptual alterations.

JULIETA SZTARKER & DANIEL TOMSIC

JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY A-SENSORY NEURAL AND BEHAVIORAL PHYSIOLOGY

Springer

Año: 2008 vol. 194 p. 587 - 596

0340-7594

When confronted with predators, animals face crucial decisions such as the timing and manner of escape. The identification of neurons in the brain that govern these decisions is usually difficult. In the crab Chasmagnathus, cumulative evidence suggests that the escape response to visual danger stimuli (VDS) can be accounted for by the response of a group of lobula giant (LG) neurons. To further investigate the hypothesis that the visually elicited escape of the crab is mediated by LG neurons, we examined the relationship between behavioral and neuronal activity within a variety of experimental conditions that affected the level of escape. The intensity of the escape response to VDS was influenced by seasonal variations, changes in stimulus features, and whether the crab perceived stimuli monocularly or binocularly. These experimental conditions consistently affected the response of LG neurons in a way that closely matched the effects observed at the behavioral level. In other words, the intensity of the stimulus-elicited activity of LG neurons faithfully reflected the intensity of the escape response. These results support the idea that the LG neurons from the lobula of crabs play a key role in the decision for escaping from VDS.