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Properties of visual interneurons in a deep-sea mysid, Gnathophausia ingens

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Abstract

Adult Gnathophausia ingens, a bioluminescent deep-sea mysid, were collected off the California coast and brought, protected from the light, to the Marine Laboratory of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) for single-unit recordings of afferent visual interneurons. These units, which traverse the optic stalk, were classified according to their response to light stimuli varying in intensity, duration and area. The most common were sustaining fibers responding throughout a continuous stimulus. The only other type, “on” fibers, showed a transient response without reference to stimulus movement. Sustaining fibers responded to irradiances as low as, 2.7×103 photons cm-2s-1sr-1, and were characterized by long temporal summations and large receptive fields. These are characteristics of a visual system adapted for maximizing sensitivity. However, the transient response of the “on” fibers also suggests a capability to react to rapidly changing light sources such as bioluminescence, a matter of importance since this mysid requires dietary coelenterazine to sustain its luminescent system.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, 93106, Santa Barbara, California, USA

    J. F. Moeller & J. F. Case

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  1. J. F. Moeller
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  2. J. F. Case
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Communicated by M. G. Hadfield, Honolulu

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Moeller, J.F., Case, J.F. Properties of visual interneurons in a deep-sea mysid, Gnathophausia ingens . Marine Biology 119, 211–219 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00349559

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00349559

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